(Excuse the ghetto photo, I need to start keeping my big-boy camera near me when I am cooking!)
I am a big fan of risotto. I think it is relatively easy (even though you do have to stir pretty constantly, but stirring shouldn't be a chore, and you can share the responsibility!), and the beauty is, you can then use the leftovers to make risotto cakes! It is also a nice LOOKING dish, and I think that food that looks good automatically tastes better.
Last night I made Beet and Celery Root Risotto to go with my (pressure cooked) short ribs. I knew that the beets would "bleed" into the risotto, giving it a bright pink color, and the "rootiness" of both they and the celery root would be a nice contrast to the fattiness of the short ribs. I also threw in some greens (broccoli rabe) for some color contrast.
When I think of food pairing, I like to cover a wide range between flavors. Earthy can be a nice contrast to fatty, as can bright or acidic. I use wine in my risotto, so there is always a little acidity to it. So now, I have hit three flavor points in one meal! I
While most risotto doesn't take too much preprep, this one needed a little more planning, as I knew I needed to precook the root veggies.
What goes in:
2 beets
1 cup of celery root, cute into cubes
(olive oil and salt for roasting the above two things)
1 cup chopped onions (red, white, yellow, shallots, any of those are cool AND all taste a little different)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup white wine (although I would like to try this with red wine next time)
3 cups broth (veg or chicken for this pairing, often times I use seafood stock) (and chances are, you may not need to use it all)
salt, really depending on how your stock tastes
Parmesan cheese (NOT FROM A CAN, blergh) 1/2 a cup to a cup, grated, depending on how you are feeling
FOR THE ROOTS:
Celery root is awesome. Try it, I implore you. It comes as this big ugly looking thing that smells like...what else...celery. But when it is roasted it gets a little caramelized and mellows out a little. And it isn't really the root of celery, but it is related. Read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeriac
Set the oven for 325.
After peeling the celery root (and by peeling, I mean using a knife to cut off the brown exterior, much easier than using a peeler), cut the root into cubes, about half an inch. Make a packet of tin foil, throw in the roots with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Close the packet up and put it on a roasting tray.
Beets are SO easy to cook. Chop of the tops, where the greens (save 'em if you want, throw them out if you don't) and the beet meet. Then put them into (a different) foil packet, same thing, with some oil and a little salt. Don't even bother peeling them. Trust me! Put this packet on the same roasting pan and put them into your 325 preheated oven. Set the timer for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Take a load off! Make a drink! Enjoy your time, you have a while.
Once the timer goes off, pull out the tray, let it sit for a few and cool down. Open the packets (watch out for steam) and put them to the side. You can let the beets cool down a bit but eventually, you want to take them out of the packet and watch as the skin literally peels right off. Beets can stain, so don't get nutty, and if you need gloves, I won't judge. Although I will think you are cooler if you have some beet stained hands. You can also run them under some cold water and scrub the skin off. Once they are peeled, dice them to about the same size as the celery root. Feel free to taste them both to make sure they are seasoned enough, but also, because you deserve a reward!
Roots are done!
FOR THE RICE:
Get a decent sized pot out. I use my (fancy sounding but amazingly reliable) Le Creuset, because it is easy to clean, heats evenly and because I love it. I would recommend a wider sort of vessel, mostly because it helps with stirring AND to make sure that the rice isn't too piled up, getting warmer in one spot over another.
I also recommend warming up your stock. If you use cold stock with the rice, it slows the cooking time down, and you are already spending a good amount of time over the pot, why add to it? You can microwave it (if you are feeling a little lazy) but again, make sure it stays warm. I usually keep it on the stove next to the pot I am cooking the risotto in.
It would also behoove you to have all of your stuff near you; your rice, your wine, your stock, salt, the root veggies, the onions. Once you get started, it is hard to get away for any real amount of time. Or really, any time. You don't want to have burned rice, so just know where everything is ahead of time. Get ready to make a pile of the containers you are using instead of taking the time to go to the sink between dumping things into the pot. This isn't the time. It will get cleaned. The person you are cooking for will clean it. Or at least, they should. You are making them risotto. HOT PINK RISOTTO!
Melt the butter and oil over medium high heat. Once it has melted, toss in the onions and sauté until they are translucent. I have a friend who never really understood what that meant, so for those of you not in the know, it means until it is slightly see through. Not like cellophane, more like thick tissue paper. Once you are happy with how it looks, take your rice and put it in with the onions and butter-oil. You are basically toasting the rice now, giving it some depth. We can discuss later what that means, but once you get the idea of "depth" in cooking, things will start to look up for you. Start stirring the rice, making sure it is coated with the oil-butter-onion mix. I would do this for about a minute, maybe a minute and a half. The other thing this does is prevent the rice from sticking and becoming a big clumpy mess.
Now it is time to start adding the liquid. Your wine (room temp) goes in first. Once you pour that in, you start stirring. Stir. And stir more. Keep stirring. Eventually (a few minutes, 2 or 3) the wine will be absorbed into the rice, and you will start to see the beginnings of your risotto! Now, add one cup of your warm stock, and stir some more. Again, like magic, the rice absorbs it! You will start to notice, for every cup of liquid you add, it takes the rice a little longer to absorb it. The idea is to have a rice that is sort of liquidy, yet still a little starchy. As I have learned (from eating out and watching Top Chef), risotto is meant to spread when it is plated, not pile up.
Add another cup of liquid. Stir. You should still have a cup of stock left. This is when I add my root veggies. Keep stirring! Almost done!
Add the last of the liquid! As I mentioned earlier, I can't tell you exactly how much you will use, but it should be pretty close to the whole amount. Cooking depends on a bunch of factors, but really, the important thing is that you enjoy what you are eating. Don't get bogged down in the details. Unless you are making a cake. Oy, measuring.
Now, the liquid should be pretty absorbed, your risotto should be a shocking pink color and you should turn off the heat. Grab your grated cheese (or you can grate it directly into the pan) and stir it together with the risotto.
