I don't know how I've fallen so far behind in my posting. Yesterday was a harried day, and I wasn't up for anything other than vegging out on the couch while I stuck the boy in front of the TV in our toy room. I know, not my best parenting, but his behavior was horrid, and I just couldn't deal with him. It was my friend Jen A's birthday yesterday, and we had a birthday lunch party for her here, so my house was cleaned for that, so I felt justified sitting around doing nothing. Well, not nothing. I was perusing the iTunes store for apps for my new iPhone!! I've had it two days and wonder how I've survived this long without one. Seriously. Although I think I've only used it as a phone twice, but I don't use my cell phone a whole lot.
Anyway, this was our dinner on Thursday night. In hindsight it was a poor choice for that night because we were out in the afternoon and by the time we got home it was after 5:00, I had to feed the baby, and I didn't end up starting the risotto until 5:45 or so, so it was pretty late by the time we were eating. Oops. I told the husband that maybe I should save risottos for after the baby is weaned. :) This recipe came from Jen B.. It was funny, I had been going back through her blog looking for dinner ideas and thought this sounded good, plus I already had a bag of edamame in the freezer and arborio rice in my pantry. Then they ended up having this dinner one night last week! I thought it was funny anyway.
Edamame and Mushroom Risotto
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces white button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 pound frozen edamame
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups vegetable broth mixed with 1-1/2 cups water
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of half and half (optional)
Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Cook edamame, about 5 minutes, following package directions. Drain, cool and remove beans from shells. Add beans to mushrooms in skillet. Discard shells.
3. Place broth and water in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a simmer.
4. In a large saucepan, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice and stir until rice is coated with oil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring-. Add wine and cook until wine is absorbed -- about 1 minute
5. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until broth is absorbed. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, cooking in the same manner. This should take about 30 minutes.
6. Gently heat mushrooms and edamame. Stir into rice and remove from heat. Stir in the pepper, half and half, and 1/4 cup of the cheese.
7. Divide among 4 bowls and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
*****
I totally spaced on taking a picture since we were eating so late, but there's a picture on Jen's original post if you want to see it. This was really good. I left out the half and half because I didn't have any on hand, and I think it would have been better with that added. The boy doesn't like mushrooms, but he ate his entire serving once I picked out the mushrooms for him. Normally I encourage him to eat things he's not fond of because I don't want a picky eater, but with sauteed mushrooms I don't mind because I love them, so I'll gladly eat his. :) The only thing I would change would be to use already shelled edamame because that took me quite awhile. I love edamame--it's such a great healthy snack and insanely high in fiber.
Showing posts with label risotto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label risotto. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Mock Vegetable Risotto
Well, we're home from our vacation. We had a good time, although Myrtle Beach totally wasn't what we expected. It reminded us of Laughlin, NV but on the beach. There were no oceanfront restaurants or bars that we could find, really there were very few seafood restaurants we could find. And the weather was only okay--we only made it to the beach twice because the other days were rainy or cold. We did drive to Charleston, SC and went and toured Fort Sumter, so that was way cool. Charleston was a neat town--I'd definitely go back there. The boy had fun playing on the beach, and he played mini golf for the first time, and we went to an aquarium. It was a good trip, but I'm glad to be home. I'm pretty tired of eating out, so I was excited to plan out my menu for the week.
I filled in a few days with some things I've been wanting to make, but I had a couple holes. The husband said to try and fill them with vegetarian options, and I remembered this "risotto" recipe I had made awhile back. We really liked it, and all I needed to buy were a couple vegetables for it, so I thought that would be good.
Mock Vegetable Risotto
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup converted white rice
2-1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into sixths and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 cup seeded, diced tomato, either fresh or canned
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
liberal seasoning of freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
Heat the butter in a 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the vegetable stock and salt and cover the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Stir in the red pepper and saute 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and fennel and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the peas and a generous seasoning of freshly ground pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.
After the rice has cooked about 17 minutes, it should be tender, not mushy, and there should be a little stock left over that has not been absorbed. At this point, stir in the wine and then all the sauteed vegetables.
Sprinkle in the two cheeses and the basil, then gently stir to incorporate them. Cook 1 minute and serve.
*****
I used brown rice last time I made this, and that's what I'll use this time as well. When I went back to look up this recipe I read my review and noticed I let the rice cook about 45 minutes. Since there's a lot of veggies in this, I think the only side we'll have is some good looking bread I bought at the grocery store today and some salad. I swear everytime I travel I come home wanting to eat nothing but vegetables.
*****
This was good, just like the first time. I ended up using roasted red peppers because regular red peppers were $$$$$ at the store, and I had some roasted ones in the fridge. I also added in some canned corn because we'd had it the night before and about half the can was left. It was tasty. There were hardly any leftovers. And...I remembered to take a picture!
And, this was the first time I used my new Le Creuset mortar and pestle...very exciting!
I filled in a few days with some things I've been wanting to make, but I had a couple holes. The husband said to try and fill them with vegetarian options, and I remembered this "risotto" recipe I had made awhile back. We really liked it, and all I needed to buy were a couple vegetables for it, so I thought that would be good.
Mock Vegetable Risotto
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup converted white rice
2-1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into sixths and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 cup seeded, diced tomato, either fresh or canned
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
liberal seasoning of freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
Heat the butter in a 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the vegetable stock and salt and cover the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Stir in the red pepper and saute 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and fennel and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the peas and a generous seasoning of freshly ground pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.
After the rice has cooked about 17 minutes, it should be tender, not mushy, and there should be a little stock left over that has not been absorbed. At this point, stir in the wine and then all the sauteed vegetables.
Sprinkle in the two cheeses and the basil, then gently stir to incorporate them. Cook 1 minute and serve.
*****
I used brown rice last time I made this, and that's what I'll use this time as well. When I went back to look up this recipe I read my review and noticed I let the rice cook about 45 minutes. Since there's a lot of veggies in this, I think the only side we'll have is some good looking bread I bought at the grocery store today and some salad. I swear everytime I travel I come home wanting to eat nothing but vegetables.
*****
This was good, just like the first time. I ended up using roasted red peppers because regular red peppers were $$$$$ at the store, and I had some roasted ones in the fridge. I also added in some canned corn because we'd had it the night before and about half the can was left. It was tasty. There were hardly any leftovers. And...I remembered to take a picture!
And, this was the first time I used my new Le Creuset mortar and pestle...very exciting!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Mock Vegetable Risotto
The new vegetarian recipes continue! Are you excited? I am. And a little scared. I'm branching out beyond my comfort zone and using zucchini tonight. I don't like zucchini, and I never have. Just ask my mom. She and my dad love zucchini and always knew people that grew it in the summer and had too much and would pass it along to us (how's that for a run-on sentence?!). She tried to sneak it into everything. My mom wasn't ever a baker (she said she didn't want to have cookies around because she'd eat them, which as a child I never understood but now I completely get!), so when my brother and I came home one day and found a batch of cookies on the counter, we were understandably skeptical. Yup--she had put zucchini in them. But, I'm going to try and embrace the zucchini because a lot of the vegetarian recipes I've found include it. I figure it can't be that bad mixed in with other stuff, right? Right?!??! I sure hope so.
This is another recipe from the almost-got-rid-of-it vegetarian cookbook. I had slated it for last week and then decided I'd do something else instead and wait to make it until red peppers were on sale. But, when I got to the grocery store last week, they were on sale! So I got one and the zucchini, but then I never made it, which worked out great for this week because that was one less dinner I needed to figure out when planning my meals.
By the way, I'm trying to use up stuff I have on hand this week, which is kind of killing me because I want to be using all my new cookbooks. The three I got for Christmas weren't enough--I bought another Giada cookbook and the new Barefoot Contessa. I haven't even had a chance to sit down and read through them yet. Arrgh! I hate having unread cookbooks!
Mock Vegetable Risotto
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup converted white rice
2-1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into sixths and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 cup seeded, diced tomato, either fresh or canned
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
liberal seasoning of freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
Heat the butter in a 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the vegetable stock and salt and cover the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Stir in the red pepper and saute 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and fennel and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the peas and a generous seasoning of freshly ground pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.
After the rice has cooked about 17 minutes, it should be tender, not mushy, and there should be a little stock left over that has not been absorbed. At this point, stir in the wine and then all the sauteed vegetables.
Sprinkle in the two cheeses and the basil, then gently stir to incorporate them. Cook 1 minute and serve.
*****
I don't have any converted rice, so I'm going to use brown. I'll let you in on a secret--I have a hard time making white rice. I don't know what it is, but it always comes out too sticky and over-cooked, no matter how long I cook it for. I do much better with brown rice. I prefer brown, but I keep white on hand for those nights where I forget to start the brown rice early enough. Apparently, Uncle Ben's rice is converted, so I looked up the cooking directions for that. It says cook 20 minutes then remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes, so I figure I'll stop my brown rice from cooking about 5-7 minutes before it's supposed to be done. Actually I'll probably just check it after 30 minutes and every five minutes after that. I don't have any white wine, but I do have dry vermouth. I think. I'm pretty sure I bought it at Trader Joe's one time and haven't ever used it. Either that or I bought marsala wine. Now I'm not sure which I bought. I'll have to check. I doubt the husband would mind having to stop for wine on his way home, if I need it.
*****
This was really yummy. At first I thought it was just okay, but it grew on me as I ate it. The husband at first said he thought it was only "so-so" and that it would be better with some seafood added into it. I told him that defeated the vegetarian aspect of it, then he said for a vegetarian dinner it was pretty good and one we should have again. My rice ended up cooking for close to 45 minutes I think it was. I busted out a little algebraic equation to figure an approximate cooking time based on the cooking time listed for converted rice compared to brown rice. I'm a geek, what can I say. My equation said equivalent cooking time would be about 42 minutes, and I think that was about right on. I'll be adding this one in to the vegetarian dinner rotation for sure. It was really easy to put together which I love.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, it was cream sherry I bought at Trader Joe's. Oops. I think Jen B. bought vermouth that trip, and that's what I was thinking of. I told you were entirely too co-dependent.
This is another recipe from the almost-got-rid-of-it vegetarian cookbook. I had slated it for last week and then decided I'd do something else instead and wait to make it until red peppers were on sale. But, when I got to the grocery store last week, they were on sale! So I got one and the zucchini, but then I never made it, which worked out great for this week because that was one less dinner I needed to figure out when planning my meals.
By the way, I'm trying to use up stuff I have on hand this week, which is kind of killing me because I want to be using all my new cookbooks. The three I got for Christmas weren't enough--I bought another Giada cookbook and the new Barefoot Contessa. I haven't even had a chance to sit down and read through them yet. Arrgh! I hate having unread cookbooks!
Mock Vegetable Risotto
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup converted white rice
2-1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into sixths and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 cup seeded, diced tomato, either fresh or canned
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
liberal seasoning of freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
Heat the butter in a 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the vegetable stock and salt and cover the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Do not let it brown. Stir in the red pepper and saute 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and fennel and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the peas and a generous seasoning of freshly ground pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.
After the rice has cooked about 17 minutes, it should be tender, not mushy, and there should be a little stock left over that has not been absorbed. At this point, stir in the wine and then all the sauteed vegetables.
Sprinkle in the two cheeses and the basil, then gently stir to incorporate them. Cook 1 minute and serve.
*****
I don't have any converted rice, so I'm going to use brown. I'll let you in on a secret--I have a hard time making white rice. I don't know what it is, but it always comes out too sticky and over-cooked, no matter how long I cook it for. I do much better with brown rice. I prefer brown, but I keep white on hand for those nights where I forget to start the brown rice early enough. Apparently, Uncle Ben's rice is converted, so I looked up the cooking directions for that. It says cook 20 minutes then remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes, so I figure I'll stop my brown rice from cooking about 5-7 minutes before it's supposed to be done. Actually I'll probably just check it after 30 minutes and every five minutes after that. I don't have any white wine, but I do have dry vermouth. I think. I'm pretty sure I bought it at Trader Joe's one time and haven't ever used it. Either that or I bought marsala wine. Now I'm not sure which I bought. I'll have to check. I doubt the husband would mind having to stop for wine on his way home, if I need it.
*****
This was really yummy. At first I thought it was just okay, but it grew on me as I ate it. The husband at first said he thought it was only "so-so" and that it would be better with some seafood added into it. I told him that defeated the vegetarian aspect of it, then he said for a vegetarian dinner it was pretty good and one we should have again. My rice ended up cooking for close to 45 minutes I think it was. I busted out a little algebraic equation to figure an approximate cooking time based on the cooking time listed for converted rice compared to brown rice. I'm a geek, what can I say. My equation said equivalent cooking time would be about 42 minutes, and I think that was about right on. I'll be adding this one in to the vegetarian dinner rotation for sure. It was really easy to put together which I love.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, it was cream sherry I bought at Trader Joe's. Oops. I think Jen B. bought vermouth that trip, and that's what I was thinking of. I told you were entirely too co-dependent.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)