Seafood Risotto

Risotto is a traditional Italian dish made with a suitable variety of rice such as Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. It originated in North Italy, specifically Eastern Piedmont, Western Lombardy, and Veneto (where the Vialone Nano comes from) where rice paddies are abundant. It is one of the pillars of Milanese cuisine.

When risotto is cooked, the rice is first cooked briefly in butter or olive oil until evenly coated and the rice starts to turn translucent, before the broth is added, one ladle at a time. Other dishes exist that are similar, but they should not be called "risotto" if the rice is not toasted from Wikipedia

Ingredients

Stock
1 pint fish stock or chicken stock
1 courgettes
1 leeks
2 tomatoes
1 carrot
handful of green bean
garlic
2-3 dried mushrooms
bay leaf
1 pints of water

Risotto
1 cup Arborio Rice
2 Onions; finely chopped
3 green chillies minced
1 tspn minced garlic
2 lb prawns; peeled and deveined
1 lb scallops, roe removed, and cut into 2 or 3 slices
1 cup cooked New Zealand mussels; cut into 2 or 3 pieces
1/2 oz butter
1 tblspoon olive oil
1 glass dry white wine
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
Method
Stock
Place all the vegetable in a large stock pot with the fish stock and water, salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Simmer for 1 hour, strain into another saucepan, leave it to simmer. Stock needs to be hot.

Risotto
1. Heat the oil in a large pan, Add the garlic and chillies
2. Add the prawns, cook for a few minutes minutes; remove
4. Add the scallops , cook for about 5 minutes; remove.
5. Add the butter, fry the onion, until transparent
5. Add the washed, drained rice (do not soak), stir until each grain is coated with oil and look transluscent.
6. Add the wine, cook until it is absorbed. (I must admit, both Lisa and I had a glass of wine at this point!)
7. Add one ladle of stock at a time, stiring until it is absorbed. Continue to do that until no more liquid can be absorbed, add the seafood, mix
8. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, add the parmesan, give it a good stir and serve.

Red Cabbage and Chilli Sambharo / Crunchy Red Cabbage and Chilli Salad

Sambharo is a Gujarati sidedish of semi-cooked vegetables, usually white cabbage, carrots and chillies. Unripe papaya and mango is often used as well. This my entry for Nurpur's One Hot Stoves: A-Z of Indian Vegetables


Ingredients
1/2 a small red cabbage
handful of chillies
handful of green beans
1 tablespoon oil
1 tspn mustard seeds
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
4-5 currry leaves

Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard, cumin and sesame seeds and the curry leaves, when they begin to pop add the chillies and the green beans
Cook for a few minutes
Add the cabbage
mix cover and cook for 8 minutes
Turn it into the serving dish (to stop it cooking)
Serve with pulao rice or chapatis

Chilli and Garlic Olives

I got this recipe from an old Itallian man, who had a Delicatessen in North Finchley. For years it was my secret recipe, I am letting out now. Try it.

Ingredients
1 large bottle of pitted green olives in brine
2 lemons
3 -4 cloves garlic (I used fresh green garlic; as we did not have any ordinary garlic)
2 tspn chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
2 tspns dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method
1. Drain the olives and wash in plenty of cold water, place in a wide bowl
2. Slice half a lemon into small pieces, add to the olives
3. Chop the garlic into small pieces; add to the olives
4. Add the chilli flakes, oregano and the juice of 1 1/2 lemons, mix.
5. Marinate for 30 mins, and serve.

Mushroom and Red Pepper Risotto

Ingredients
Stock
you can use any veg you have to hand, I used
1 courgettes
1 leeks
2 tomatoes
1 carrot
handful of green bean
garlic
2-3 dried mushrooms
bay leaf
2 pints of water

Risotto
1 cup Arborio Rice
2 Onions; finely chopped
1 red chilli (finely chopped)
1 tspn minced garlic
2 cups assorted mushrooms sliced
2 red peppers; diced
1/2 oz butter
1 tblspoon olive oil
1 glass dry white wine (two extra glasses for the cooks)
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese


Method
Stock
Place all the vegetable in a large stock pot with the water, salt and pepper and bring to boil.
Simmer for 1 hour, strain into another saucepan, leave it to simmer. Stock need to be hot.

Risotto
1. Heat the oil / butter in a large pan, add the onion, cook until transparent. Add the garlic and chillies
2. Add the mushroom, cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the peppers, cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the washed, drained rice (do not soak), stir until each grain is coated with oil.
6. Add the wine, cook until it is absorbed.
7. Add one ladle of stock at a time, stiring until it is absorbed. Continue to do that until no more liquid can be absorbed.
8. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, add the parmesan, give it a good stir and serve.

Recipes I want to try

Every month, I intend to try 6 recipes from my fellow bloggers. These are the recipes I intend to try in the next month:

Makai Bajra Dhebra from The Spice who love me
Methi Thepla from Food-n- More
Spicy Spirals from Indian Food Rocks
Cornbread with Okra topping from from Mahanandi
Chilli side dishes from Garam Masala
Gheea Koftey from As Dear as Salt

Vagarela Tomato (Leftover) Rice

This is my all time favourite comfort food. We used to get to eat this for Saturday lunch when we were little. It is the first dish I cooked when I was away from home (at University). I specially cooked the rice to make it! So next time you have left over rice try it, you won't regret it!

Ingredients
2 cups leftover rice
3 tomatoes; peeled and liquidised
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tspn oil
1 tspn mustard seeds
3-5 curry leaves
2 green chillies; split horizontally till the stalk
1/2 tspn tumeric
pinch of salt


1. Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies, let them splutter and pop.
2. Add the tomatoes, cook for about 5-8 minutes.
3. Add the tumeric, stir for 2 minutes
4. Add the rice, mix, add the yogurt and salt and mix well
5. cover and cook for 10 minutes, so that all the rice has heated through.
6. Serve with a green salad

Lisa's Garlic Bread

1 Baton French Bread
1/2 cup butter / vegetable spread
1/2 cup fresh green garlic; chopped fine
black pepper to taste


Method
1. Switch on the oven at 220 degrees Centrigade
1. mix the butter, garlic and black pepper
2. Slice the loaf length ways and into 3 inch pieces.
4. Spread the bread with the mixture, place in the pre-heated for 7 minutes.