Thursday, May 20, 2010

Ina's Spring Green Risotto and CEiMB (finally!)


This photo proves you can almost completely disregard the ingredients for a recipe and end up with something that is delicious and easy.

I planned to make last week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe with only two changes: No fennel (hate it) or wine (no alcohol here). But after my memory failed me at the grocery store, I had to leave out the peas and chives. And then my pantry failed me: the arborio rice I knew was in there had mysteriously disappeared. But I had white rice and Ina's chicken stock in the freezer, so I made a go of it.

I sauteed the leeks for a few minutes and then tossed in several minced cloves of garlic, then the rice and 3/4 cup of hot chicken broth. I treated the rice a lot like arborio, and I cooked the asparagus with the rice to save work.

The end result was not a typical risotto, but it was still delicious. Rich and filling, it was a welcome lunch on a busy day.

We were hosted this week by Kimberly of Indulge and Enjoy. Risotto is one of Kimberly's favorite foods and like us, she really enjoyed it. You can find the original recipe here, or here is my streamlined take on it:

Printable recipe

Spring Green Risotto - liberally adapted from Ina Garten

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 leeks, well cleaned, white and light green parts chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
6-7 cups of chicken broth, hot
1 3/4 cups white rice
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1" pieces
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Combine the butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat. When melted, add the leeks and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and mix to get the grains coated with the butter and oil. Add 3/4 cup of chicken broth, stir, and allow the rice to absorb the broth, stirring occasionally.

When the broth is almost absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of broth, let the rice absorb it, then another 1/2 cup, and then enough broth to cover the rice. Cover the pot, lower the heat to medium-low and cook the rice until the broth is almost absorbed. Test the rice; if it's still crunchy add another cup of broth. Once the broth is absorbed and the rice is almost cooked, add the raw asparagus and another 1/2 cup of broth and cook it until the asparagus is crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and add the mascarpone and parmesan cheese. Taste for seasoning and add salt and peeper if desired. Serve hot. Serves 6.

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Craving Ellie in My Belly - Chocolate Egg Cream

I have been absent from Craving Ellie in My Belly for months. If you had asked me which recipe would get me back into the rotation, I would have never thought it would be this one. See, I always thought egg creams had eggs, cream and seltzer water, and fizzy, watery eggs don't sound appealing to me.

Chaya at Chaya's Comfy Cook chose this one for us. I don't visit Chaya as often as I'd like because she has music on one of her blogs (and I can never remember which one), which on more than one occasion has blared out of my speakers at work and made everyone realize I was goofing off.

Once I saw there were no eggs in this one, I was relieved. Once I saw how easy it was, I was overjoyed. So I gave it a try.

After mixing sugar, cocoa and boiling water, you add the mixture to milk and seltzer water, then stir. Mine isn't as two-toned as it's supposed to be, but it was chocolaty. It wasn't something that I will crave, but I'm glad Chaya picked it for us so now I can say I've tried it.

If you'd like to try it, you'll find the recipe here. And I'm going to try to keep up with the CEiMB weekly picks.

11 comments:

Peggy said...

I see you had the same response as I did to the chocolate cream. I was glad too it did not have eggs in it! Your risotto looks good! Very creamy looking.

Julie said...

Love risotto and this looks so delicious. To me it's a wonderful comfort food. I've never made or eaten egg cream. But certainly thought all of them had eggs. This looks yummy!

Joanne said...

Same here - next time I try the Chocolate "soda", I'll make adjustments in a less healthy way. :) Glad I tried it though.

Anonymous said...

I had no idea what to expect when I saw the title of this week's CEiMB recipe, but this actually sounds pretty good. I just got back from vacation and haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I'm glad to see it is not what I was thinking it would be! And the risotto looks great!

margot said...

Great job on making the risotto work, it looks delicious. I don't know if I've had an egg cream, looks like it's worth trying.

Anonymous said...

I am turning the music off on my Sweet and Savory immediately. I want you to visit me.

Other people probably have the same problem. I can't go, at work, so I never thought of it.
I teach. I turn off my cell phone too.

Your egg cream looks a lot darker than mine. What did you do or did you? I posted late but I am up now on Comfy Cook.

Anonymous said...

I think we are kindred food souls!! I. Love. Asparagus. Risotto!! Throw in some quickly sauteed shrimp and oooooooooh so good!!

Unknown said...

I am so impressed by the way you improvise! I always find myself buying ingredients for recipes and then throwing away the remainder after I make the recipe. If I just learned to make do with what I have like you I wouldn't have that issue :) The risotto looks delicious!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

I always wondered what an egg creme was.....and your risotto looked so very good!
thanks for sharing!
Dennis

Kayte said...

Your version of the risotto sounds very nice. I love this recipe of Ina's, probably too much. I only make half b/c I know I will eat less of it that way. I was gone last week and didn't miss making the CHOCOLATE egg cream thing, not doing a rewind as chocolate is not my thing. What is the recipe for this week? I could not find it on the blog, email me if you know what it is, okay? I will keep checking the blog. Your egg cream looks like very lovely the way you have it all posed, btw.

Mimi said...

Gorgeous risotto. My husband grew up in the mid west and loves egg creams. They were not so popular in my area of California. This would be a nice surprise for him.
mimi