Mushroom Risotto

Posted by Sarah in Food on February 22, 2012

Risotto is labor intensive and takes time to make, and I wouldn’t recommend trying to make it at the same time as another complex dish, but it is a really good side dish and can even stand on its own as a main.

The key to risotto is arborio rice, which has short, rounded grains and a high starch content. You’ll sometimes see it labeled as risotto rice in stores, as it is closely identified with the dish. Arborio also makes great rice pudding. It absorbs a lot of liquid for its size and stays firm as it’s cooked.

A finished risotto is creamy and the grains are soft but whole. Mushrooms are a perfect addition in terms of flavor and texture.

You will need:

  • 10 oz mushrooms
  • 6 cups stock
  • 1/2 cup onions
  • 2 cups dry arborio rice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt to taste

I used shiitake mushrooms, sliced, and a stock I made a while ago from leftover pork ribs. Any stock or broth will do, but I like to use a nice gelatinous stock because it results in a thicker, stickier risotto.

Simmer the mushrooms in the stock on med-low heat while you prep your other ingredients.

Pour your olive oil in a deep saute pan and cook the onions until they are translucent. Add in the dry rice and cook it on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Turn the heat down to low and pour in about a cup of the stock. You don’t want to add the mushrooms yet, so what I usually do is dip a measuring cup into the stock and press it against the side to allow the liquid to stream in without any of the mushrooms falling in.

Stir the rice and broth gently until the rice has absorbed all the visible liquid. Now you can add another 1/2 – 1 cup of broth. Repeat this step until you’ve added all the broth and the rice has absorbed it all. This takes a lot of time – easily 40 minutes. The rice will cook and absorb faster on higher heat, but you risk breaking the grains and the resulting risotto has a weird gritty mouth feel.

Once all the liquid is all absorbed, stir in the mushrooms and warm them back up. Your risotto is ready to serve!

This served three as a main course, with plenty left over – which was part of the plan. Leftover risotto is the perfect material for making arancini (Italian for “little oranges”), which are fried rice balls with a hot molten core of mozzarella cheese. Last night’s rice is far better than fresh for this. Tomorrow night I’ll post the arancini.

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Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Posted by Sarah in Food on February 21, 2012

Last night I posted about rolled pork stuffed with mozzarella and pesto, which I served for dinner on Sunday night. With that dish, I served one of the easiest, most satisfying sides I’ve made to date. Potatoes are a blank canvas that you can paint with all kinds of flavors and textures, and oven roasting is one way to bring out the best in them.

This is so easy it’s almost laughable, but I promise you, these potatoes are way more impressive eating than they have any right to be.

You’ll need:

  • 6-8 small golden potatoes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 2 tsp coarse salt

This serves two generously.

Preheat your oven to 375°.

Cut the potatoes in half and dump them in a gallon ziploc bag. Add the olive oil and seal the bag without pressing out any air. (This is the best way I’ve found to get an even coating of oil.) Give it a few good shakes and dump the potatoes into a baking dish. Arrange the potatoes skin side down in a single layer.

Sprinkle the tops of the potatoes with the salt and the rosemary.

Bake the potatoes for about 45 minutes, or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick or fork can be inserted easily into the flesh.

 

Wasn’t that simple? You seriously will not believe how delicious this is.

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Rolled Pork with Pesto

Posted by Sarah in Food on February 20, 2012

The other day I bought a beautiful package of fresh mozzarella, with no thought to what I would make with it. After it had been in my fridge for a couple of days, I decided to use it to stuff pork. Filling a split chop or rolling a thin cutlet around a tasty center is a fantastic way to combine flavors and keep pork moist.

You can pound out a piece of pork to make it thin, or slice it carefully if you feel confident. I used a fillet knife to cut two 1/4″ cutlets. Then I sliced two 1/2″ pieces off my nice fresh mozzarella. Using storebought pesto sauce (our local grocery chain sells AMAZING pasta sauces), I rubbed all surfaces of the pork and then rolled the mozzarella slices in the meat.

I baked this at 375° for about 30 minutes, which left the pork slightly rare at the center.

The mozzarella gushes out the sides a bit, and is melty and stretchy and awesome.

That’s all there is to it – simple and delicious. I served it with roasted rosemary potatoes, which I’ll post about tomorrow, and a nice mixed greens salad.

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New England Clam Chowder

Posted by Sarah in Food on February 14, 2012

I love soups. They’re warm and comforting. It’s been super cold and windy and gross around here lately, so tonight felt like a soup night.

One of our favorites is New England style clam chowder, and for a long time I was buying it premade. Recently I spent an afternoon crawling recipes, and here’s what I wound up making. This is the second time I’ve used this recipe, and we like it a lot.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 4 (6.5 oz) cans of chopped clams
  • 1 cup minced sweet onion
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 2 cups potatoes, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 quart half-and-half
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp finely ground black pepper

In a stock pot, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a light roux. You can let this go on low heat while you work on the other ingredients – just check in on it periodically and whisk it around from time to time so it doesn’t burn. In a pan, combine veggies, salt, pepper, vinegar, and the liquid from the cans of clams. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are soft and the celery and onion are translucent.

Add the vegetables and liquid into the pot with the roux and combine thoroughly. The liquid will thicken into a thin paste because of the roux. Gradually stir in the half-and-half. Add in the chopped clams and heat until they are just warmed through – any more and they’ll get tough.

Serve hot with some good bread.

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Shepherd’s Pie

Posted by Sarah in Food on February 13, 2012

Shepherd’s pie is one of those dishes that I honestly don’t think I had ever eaten before meeting my husband. I learned to make it because it’s one of his favorites, and now I love it too. It’s a really hearty stick-to-your-ribs type of dish, and there are lots of different ways to make it (and make it your own!).

Technically, “shepherd’s” pie should have lamb or mutton in it, but most often if you order it in a restaurant or pub in the US it will be made with beef. I’ve heard this called “cowman’s pie,” but it’s really not an important distinction. It can also be called cottage pie. All of these names are used to describe a meat pie with a top “crust” made of mashed potatoes.

Most of the time I use ground beef in my shepherd’s pie, but I had time to do something in advance, so this time I used pot roast. I followed the same technique I used for my pot roast post. In addition to the usual beef broth and beer, I added tomato sauce to the cooking liquid. The beef cooked in the crock pot overnight with carrots, onions, celery, and garlic.

The next day I strained out the solids, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. I shredded the beef and added it and the cooked veggies to a baking dish.

For the topping, I cut up five pounds of golden potatoes into roughly 1″ cubes. I didn’t end up using all of the resulting mash – I’d say about 3 lbs would have been enough. There’s nothing wrong with having leftover mashed potatoes!

I put my cut potatoes in a stock pot and added enough water to cover them. I’ve found that the best way to cook potatoes for mashing is to bring them up to a boil and then turn the temperature down and simmer them until a fork easily pierces the flesh. Strain the potatoes and rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking and remove a little excess starch.

Once all the water was drained off the potatoes, I dumped them back in the stock pot. I mashed them by hand, but you can use a mixer. You shouldn’t need to – the potatoes should be tender enough to mash easily. As I mashed, I added heavy cream until I liked the texture. You want a fairly loose moist mash, but not watery.

Next I gradually added finely ground black pepper and sea salt until I was happy with the taste.

With a spatula, I spread the potatoes around on top of the beef and veggies in an even layer. I had preheated my oven to 350°, and I baked the dish for half an hour.

If you choose to use ground beef, just brown it in a pan with a little beer and tomato sauce. You can add other veggies, peas being my favorite. Cheese in the mashed potatoes is a delicious addition. This dish is so straightforward and rustic that you can really play with it. Leftovers from a previous meal make a good base for it, and, in turn, shepherd’s pie is really great reheated.

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