Spring Risotto

In the spirit of online cooking classes, and as Covid stubbornly continues to prevent us from gathering in person, we thought it would be fun to plan a menu we could all prepare and cook together in our separate kitchens.

Caroline chose the dish - risotto. Perfetto! Something we could personalize and that would allow for good, stirring conversation.

There are three different types of rice that are most suitable for risotto: carnaroli is known as the 'caviar' of risotto rice (the creamiest and most forgiving to cook with); vialone nano, which is a shorter grain grown in the Veneto region; and arborio, which is the most widely available. 

Risotto is a wonderful meal unto itself and endlessly adaptable to the season. This is definitely a versatile dish with recipes as plentiful as the individual cooks.

On this beautiful sunny spring evening we enjoyed our variations on the theme and imagined the taste of other plates. Hopefully, soon, we will be able to share a lunch in person.

Caroline 

I look forward to Mark McEwan column in the weekend paper. His risotto write up inspired me to make the dish and I crowned the creamy rice with lobster claws. Well rehearsed, I looked forward to cooking it with my Epitourist gang. 

McEwan insists that the “#1" tip to a killer risotto is to master the stock and to keep it just below simmer to the side.” So, I obliged. I used carnaroli rice, Alsace Pinot Gris, roasted asparagus and pan fried scallops in copious amount of butter. 

Off heat, McEwan adds three spoonfuls of 35 % cream to finish this comforting dish. I like his post dinner pairing suggestion of a pavlova with early summer berries, lemon curd and peaked cream, yum!

Kaarina

I tend to time travel while stirring my risotto. My favourite trip is to the Amalfi Coast, where 20 years ago I blissfully savoured a seafood risotto in an unimposing small cafe on the edge of Priano harbour while watching the fishermen push their boats off the rocky shore. Then there was the New Year’s Eve when my friend Peter made the most memorable shrimp risotto ever. What made it so remarkable no one can say. Was it butter? Could it have been the champagne?

When I was casting about for fresh inspiration for our Epi Risotto Cook-Off, I didn’t have to look long or hard. Aubergine and Lemon Risotto popped up in the first search. A 2008 Guardian newspaper column by (who else?) Yotam Ottolenghi.

The recipe calls for two eggplants - one roasted whole to a creamy pulp; the second cubed and fried, rather like croutons. I took the liberty of replacing the lemon zest and juice with a finely chopped preserved lemon. I had my heart set on trying a new rose from Roussillon - Tesselae Rose by Domaine Lafage - while stirring the risotto and half of my glass found its way into the pot. Lovely.

P.S. The leftover risotto turned into dreamy Arancini  - fried risotto balls - for the next day’s backyard cocktails with friends.

Laura

Risotto is such a go-to comfort dish for me. I make sure I always have a package of Arborio rice in the cupboard, and I usually have homemade stock in the freezer (thanks to the ease of making it in the Instant Pot). Then it’s just a matter of rooting around to find some veg, herbs, and whatever meat or fish is around. And sometimes just a package of dried mushrooms will do the trick. This time I had some smoked mackerel, a fennel bulb, and some lovely Ontario asparagus on hand. 

I don’t use a recipe anymore. There’s not much variation in making a basic risotto. A quick Google finds Basic Risotto.  The only change I made was to sauté chopped fennel along with the onion. I also roasted a bit of the fennel along with the asparagus to finish the dish. This time I sautéed in olive oil, but sometimes I use butter. I always finish it by swirling in a knob of butter. I usually always grate in some Parmesan, but refrained from adding too much this time because of the saltiness of the mackerel. 

Diane

I don't generally follow a particular recipe for risotto, but do abide by the basic method of stir, stir, stir. Although at a previous Epi meal, I used Laura's Insta-pot to make a mushroom risotto and added scotch. 

This time around. I added a splash of vermouth to the rice when it was first toasting in the pan, and then flavoured the chicken stock with the broth from reconstituted dried mushrooms. Mushrooms, peas and basil were added with the parmesan. Pan-fried scallops to top.

A new ingredient for me was Meyer Lemon Honey Living vinegar, which I drizzled overtop to finish. Living Vinegar is literally alive, with living vinegar mother in every bottle. Raw and unfiltered, prebiotic, functional, and full of complex flavor. Created by Acid League, who say they were tired of only finding apple cider vinegar with these benefits, and so created Living Vinegar with a healthy dose of flavour. I love the taste and have been using it in salad dressings and cocktails, too.