Summer Risotto

Let me start off by saying: S I C I L Y.

(drink)

For those of you just joining us here, let me fill you in.

Once upon a time, I worked at a food channel on YouTube and had my own cooking show. During this show, I used to have a few glasses of wine here and there. One episode, I made arancini and drank whisky. Arancini are from Sicily (drink) and in said episode, I said Sicily (drink) quite a lot, and thus turned it into a drinking game. Every time I said Sicily (drink), I would drink, and I would expect the audience / viewer to also drink.

Needless to say, by the end of the episode, I had nearly finished a bottle of whisky.

I was also very drunk.

This game carried on throughout my tenure there and the life of the cooking show.

In today’s episode of Farideh is the Best, I’m making risotto. Risotto is not from Sicily (drink), however, it is the base of arancini. With the amount of times I say risotto in this episode, maybe risotto should be the new Sicily.

(drink)

A lot of people seem to be intimidated by risotto, but it truly is an incredibly simple dish to make. Below are my tips for making it.

1. Use short grain rice, such as arborio or carnaroli.

2. Use warm stock. If you use cold or even room temperature stock, it takes longer to warm up and may shock the grains of rice, preventing them from releasing starch. The starchiness of the rice is what makes the risotto so creamy (so don’t rinse your rice, either).

3. Stir often, but not too much. I know, this is a bit tricky. Stirring too often can sauce the rice to get stodgy while also cooling it down, but if you don’t stir it at all, you risk it burning or sticking to the bottom of your pan. Find a nice balance, and you will be rewarded with perfect risotto.

4. Add the stock little by little. Don’t add it all in at once; then you’re just boiling it. Add in a ladle and wait for it to be fully absorbed before adding in more stock. Making risotto should take about 20 minutes, so take your time and listen to some good music or have someone to hang with you while you cook.

5. Add in any additions after the rice is cooked and you’ve removed it from the heat. The risotto we’re making here is a very basic risotto that we add a basil dressing to at the end. You could use this risotto base and add in anything you want, tbqh. Throw in some cooked mushrooms, creme fraiche, or other cooked veggies once your rice is cooked. This simple recipe is a great foundation for your ultimate risotto experience. Have fun with it!

I was sort of nervous when I made this recipe / video because I hadn’t done it before. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but I am suuuuuper pleased with the results. The risotto is bright green and creamy; the addition of a tomato salad on top to serve helps make this feel even lighter. I used radicchio and endive in this salad, which aren’t really in season but can be found year round, and I just love the crunch of endive and the bitterness of radicchio, but feel free to use another leafy green.

I also made this salad with some torn mozzarella once, which was perfection, and honestly, burrata would be pretty sick, too.

ALSO! I made this risotto with wine and I suggest you grab yourself a glass of something special and press play on this episode so you can enjoy it while you watch. At one stage it looks like I am pouring myself a glass of chicken stock, but trust me, it’s wine.

S I C I LY.

Summer Risotto with Tomato Salad

Serves 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

for the basil dressing:
2 ounces|56 grams fresh basil leaves
¼ cup|60 ml olive oil
½ teaspoon chili flakes
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 small garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the salad:
6 ounces|170 grams tomatoes, quartered or cut into bite-sized pieces
1 endive, leaves separated and halved
¼ head radicchio, cored and leaves separated
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1 lemon
olive oil, to taste
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the risotto:
4 cups|1 liter chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup|215 grams arborio rice
2 small shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup|60 ml white wine
½ cup|60 grams grated parmesan cheese
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the basil dressing: Combine the basil, olive oil, chili flakes, lemon zest and juice, and garlic clove in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth and refrigerate until ready to use. 

2. Make the salad: In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, endive, and radicchio. Zest in the lemon and squeeze in its juice, then drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Make the risotto: Place the stock in a medium saucepan over medium. Keep warm.

4. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium. Add the shallot and cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add in the rice. Cook, stirring to coat, for 1 minute more. Add the wine and cook until it has absorbed, about 1 minute.

5. Add a ladle of stock and cook, stirring, until absorbed, then add another ladle of stock. Continue cooking the rice and adding the stock, little by little, until all of the stock has been used, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil dressing and the parmesan cheese, then season with salt and pepper. 

6. To serve, divide the risotto between two plates and top with the salad.