risotto

[highchef]

I've recently learned to cook risotto and am curious about what you serve it with. Normally I serve rice with meats that make gravy, since risotto is basically a rice dish with it's own 'sauce', my traditional dishes are overkill in the sauce dept. I'm not talking braised dishes, I think they're an excellent choice. It's the roux added gravies that don't make sense to me. I'd also like to incorporate seafood with the meal as a main dish, but am unsure of how to do it without putting it into the risotto itself (it's a kid thing, they don't like risotto but dh and I do and I still want them to eat the main dish). I thought of salmon. I like lamb with it as well. What flavors do I add to the risotto to compliment salmon? What traditional dishes is risotto served with? Do you have a traditional favorite? I've added mushrooms and spinach. What flavors, herbs, veggies do you add? I'm especially curious of how to make it compliment fish etc. since it's lent and fridays are meatless.

thanks in advance.

[Andrew Fenton]

As far as I know, with one big exception-- osso buco and risotto Milanese-- risotto traditionally isn't served with (in the sense of alongside) anything. It's usually a separate course. That's how I prefer it; it's such a wonderful dish that it deserves the individual attention.

I make all kinds of risottos. It's a pretty adaptable dish, really, and I'll just toss in whatever good, fresh ingredient I have on hand. Interesting you mention salmon, though... the other night I had the bright idea of using leftover smoked salmon in a risotto. A little funky, and not one of my best efforts, I'm afraid...

[slkinsey]

What he said. The best thing to serve with risotto is a nice glass of wine.

[Chufi]

Andrew and slkinsey are right, ofcourse, but.. sometimes you want risotto for dinner, but it's just a weeknight and not a multicourse affair. Our weekday dinners are usually 'put everything on the table at once' kind of dinners.

So we often have risotto and then a salad, and the salad will have something substantial like smoked duck, or tuna, or eggs, or roasted vegetables. It should complement the flavor of the risotto ofcourse.

And sometimes, Italian sacrilege, I do have risotto and other stuff on the same plate. With the creamyness of the rice I like 'dry' meat or fish - plain grilled salmon, veal escalopes, or even meatballs that are crispy on the outside. Tomato risotto (when there are good tomatoes, ofcourse) with grilled lambchops...

[Busboy]

Greeks do risotto and fish all the time, especially shrimp and shellfish. I guess since it's not a religious icon for them, as it is for the Italians they don't mind treating it like mashed potatoes.

I had risotto with sea urchin "tongues" and a little truffle puree the other day, but that's probably not, as Chufi put it, a "weekday" dish.

Keller, btw, tarts up his mushroom risotto with whipped cream (unsweetened) and truffle oil (and fresh truffles) which is pretty tasty. Just start with a mushroom stock made with cheap grocery store mushrooms, and throw the good ones in at the end.

[fiftydollars]

...Keller, btw, tarts up his mushroom risotto with whipped cream (unsweetened)...

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I love this! It's a great move from TK. It almost makes up for the ridiculous method he advocates for making risotto.

I eat risotto by itself although I have been known to put in a little lobster in it or steaming hot globs of seared foie gras just to gussy it up a bit.

[Kouign Aman]

Dill goes well with salmon. Now what veggie goes well with dill?

Lemon risotto with salmon?

tomato risotto with beef?

Chufi, you said it so well.

[Pontormo]

Greeks do risotto and fish all the time, especially shrimp and shellfish.  I guess since it's not a religious icon for them, as it is for the Italians    they don't mind treating it like mashed potatoes.

...or pilaf. BTW icons were kissed, scolded and yes, even had their paint chipped off and ingested back in the good ol' days as a way of merging the self with the "presence" (translation of "ikon") represented.

Keller, btw, tarts up his mushroom risotto with whipped cream (unsweetened) and truffle oil (and fresh truffles) which is pretty tasty.  Just start with a mushroom stock made with cheap grocery store mushrooms, and  throw the good ones in at the end.

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And if you're out of heavy cream, no sweat. A little pickle relish does nicely.

(Just kidding, honest. There actually are ITALIAN recipes which call for melted butter, cream, etc. added towards the end; Union Square does this with marscapone, I think.)

* * *

This might help you out...

Klary, I was okay with not making lasagne for the birthday party. Here, I just don't know...

[DCP]

Some may consider it heretical to serve risotto with anything, but I've frequently had it at restaurants with a slab of fish atop it. Seared yellowtail worked well for me when replicating at home.

[The Hersch]

Now what veggie goes well with dill?

Beets.

[amapola]

Now what veggie goes well with dill?

Beets.

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...no dill here, just beets and risotto. I haven't tried it but I like the look of it.

I'm not too sure about using dill in my risotto, to be honest. Salmon & dill do make a very tasty trio with zucchini though. Which, when put toghether, might be good with a (lemon-) risotto after all. Hm. Now I've confused myself.

[GTO]

Beets would be good yeah. How about Cauliflower or baby leeks?

[Jonathan Kaplan]

Following up on the above ideas, how about the following for salmon?

Finish the risotto w/ cream and/or marscapone, then add finely chopped dill, and a puree of arugula and/or sorel and/or lemon.

I have an Italian friend who makes a very nice herb risotto (he would of course never serve it *with*anything, but that's another story). So ramping up the dill to complement the salmon strikes me as very reasonable...

An even more heretical approach would be to treat the risotto like a sauce itself. Make it a little 'wetter' and perhaps finish it w/ lots of cream, choosing the base to complement the dish it will go on...

Braised lamb shanks with risotto scented with mushrooms and balsamic, perhaps?

Just some thoughts!

jk

[suzilightning]

i, too, have just started making risottos.

john likes smoked salmon with asparagus tips.

i served a pear and sage risotto with a pork roast at the family christmas eve dinner.

shrimp marinated in lemoncello, basil and olive oil then wrapped in prosciutto. seared and topping a risotto with lemon zest and peas.

Edited March 1, 2007 by suzilightning (log)

[highchef]

Portormo, I love the link, I was thinking a shellfish stock would be ok, but I needed confirmation. I'll try that next week..

Jonathan Kaplan, I'm thinking along the same lines. Dill, even tarragon??? and using a shellfish stock.

But. Isn't salmon sturdy enough to live with another flavor..I mean salmon is like the meat of seafood, so does it need a seafood stock for the risotto? or can it handle it's own. I don't know guys, that's why I come to the best.

[JAZ]

Following up on the above ideas, how about the following for salmon?

Finish the risotto w/ cream and/or marscapone, then add finely chopped dill, and a puree of arugula and/or sorel and/or lemon. 

jk

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I make a smoked salmon risotto that has dill and leeks in it (finished with mascarpone). It's very good. If you leave out the smoked salmon, you could serve it with baked or grilled salmon.

[enurmi]

I occasionally like my risotto (heretically, I believe) with toasted pinenuts, parmigiano, and a basil puree. (deconstructed pesto=mmmmmm)

[KarenSherwood]

One of our favorite family meals is risotto milanese served with baked salmon (baked with sprigs of dill under thin slices of lemon all over), and roasted asparagus with garlic and dill.

Another goodie is a mushroom risotto served with roasted pork tenderloin (I like the pork with a dry rub of Hatch chili powder, garlic, black pepper, salt and cumin) and a tossed salad.

And save those leftovers! You can make little balls of chilled risotto, slip in a piece of mozzarella, roll them in panko and pan fry them. The mozzarella is so melty and good and the outside gets cripsy. Or you can shape it into thin cakes and saute them in a little butter for the base of an eggs benedict variation

Edited March 2, 2007 by KarenSherwood (log)

[Henry dV]

Hi everyone, first post here......How about trying dried ceps(porcini)soaked in tepid water and added half way through? Remember to add all but the last dregs of the soaking liquid( as they contain grit etc) Then when the rice is just cooked add a nob of butter, remove from the heat and cover for 2-3 minutes before a final stir and serve with crusty bread that is just body heat ??

[scubadoo97]

I think risotto can stand up to a hearty dish. I recently made a risotto with short ribs that was fantastic. I also made a lobster and mushroom risotto with red snapper on top.

[Jan Primus]

Hi everyone, first post here......How about trying dried ceps(porcini)soaked in tepid water and added half way through? Remember to add all but the last dregs of the soaking liquid( as they contain grit etc) Then when the rice is just cooked add a nob of butter, remove from the heat and cover for 2-3 minutes before a final stir and serve with crusty bread that is just body heat ??

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Last time I made a mushroon risotto, I put the dried porcini in the stock and the risotto did turn out gritty. I don't think I used the final ladles of stock either. I did roughly mince the porcini's afterwards and mix with the rice. What can I do to avoid that grittiness yet still use the porcini's in the risotto?

[Peter the eater]

Everyone should make risotto - to me its just about as important as bread. It is valuable to know what the traditions are but then its really fun to mess with them.

I'll make a batch on the weekend and use it up days later in the form of pan fried cakes, maybe encrusted with bread or as a ball. Crunchy outside but it stays real creamy inside.

I agree that a roux gravy is a bit much along side risotto and generally like something crisp and light, like steamed asparagus or just a couple of shrimp.

My main objection to traditional Italian risotto, and I may be way out numbered here, is the al dente part. To me there are few thing more unpleasant in the mouth as undercooked rice - I am just saying its good to be on the soft side.

And then there are all those other grains that can be prepared the risotto way . . .

[Pontormo]

Portormo, I love the link, I was thinking a shellfish stock would be ok, but I needed confirmation. I'll try that next week..

Jonathan Kaplan, I'm thinking along the same lines. Dill, even tarragon??? and using a shellfish stock.

But. Isn't salmon sturdy enough to live with another flavor..I mean salmon is like the meat of seafood, so does it need a seafood stock for the risotto? or can it handle it's own. I don't know guys, that's why I come to the best.

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Highchef: Check out Kevin's seafood risotto here as confirmation. If you spend time in the regional cooking threads in the Italian forum, you might find more good ideas for risotto. Kevin's post is for last month's exploration of the Veneto, a region known for the quality of its rice, so quite a few of us made risotto. I highly recommend the risotto with green apples that Elie (Foodman) introduces. This month, we've turned to Le Marche where one local speciality is very simple: just butter, a little minced onion, white wine, a little pecorino, a little Parmesan, then a touch of cinnamon, and when plated, freshly ground black pepper and a dusting of freshly grated lemon zest. Delicious. I bet the apple risotto would be good with a little bit of that cinnamon.

Hi everyone, first post here......How about trying dried ceps(porcini)soaked in tepid water and added half way through? Remember to add all but the last dregs of the soaking liquid( as they contain grit etc)

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Hmmm... I seem to have clipped the wrong reference to dried porcini and grit. Jan Primus: Put your dried mushrooms in a small bowl. Boil water and pour it over the mushrooms, covering the bowl with a plate if you'd like to trap the heat. Wait at least 20 minutes. Remove the mushroom pieces, squeezing them a bit so they're not all soggy, then chop them into smaller pieces. Then take the finest mesh strainer you've got and strain the soaking liquid. I use a little tea strainer. The grit remains in the mesh and you can add some or all of the soaking liquid to your risotto along with the broth for a more intense mushroom flavor.

[dario]

g'day,

2 of my preferred rice dishes:

1) rice and peas (risi bisi), and

2) rice with meat balls cooked in a tomato sauce (tonite dinner)

the secret of a good risotto, as I understand it, is to know when it's cooked. It should be all'onda (weavy), not too dry and not too liquid.

Traditionally the dish is finished off (and I never do this) by blending in a tablespoon of butter to give it a creamier consistency. I would think that the additional butter would make the dish too fatty.

Dario

Edited March 12, 2007 by dario (log)

[Jan Primus]

Thanks for the tip Pontormo, I'll definately try that soon...maybe if my strainers aren't fine enough I'll add a cheese cloth to it.