Cheese Risotto

My "Impress You" dish. Don't you have one of those? I use it on everyone - dates, best friends, family, potential in-laws, for bribery, etc. I make this dish (usually with roasted chicken with thyme or rosemary and a nice salad) anytime I want to make absolutely sure that my food will impress and/or please. I like to make it with different cheeses - sometimes because I want to use up what's in my fridge, because a particular cheese is on sale, or because goat cheese makes it such a pretty white! BUT, my absolute favourite cheese to use is Asiago. And not that stuff from your average grocery store (although it will taste fine), it's too expensive and it doesn't have the same depth of flavour, the same nuttiness, or the right level of stink (that good cheese stink is the one I'm referring to here!). Try an Italian market or cheese counter - even Costco!

The first time I made risotto I used a recipe that called for lots of butter. However, since we are adding cheese to this at the end, I don't use any butter. I like to start with extra virgin olive oil instead. If you don't want to use cheese just add a tablespoon or so of butter at the end to get that optimal creaminess that is associated with risotto.

One more thing before the recipe: for rice use Arborio, Vialone Nano, or Carnaroli. Honestly, I have only ever used Arborio and this is mainly because it is easy to find and I think (could be wrong) cheaper than the other two. I have been able to find Scarpone's Arborio at Co-op stores. However, if you can't find these rices you can use short grain white rice. I find it takes a little longer to cook, but it works. You're looking for a high starch content here; it's very important to the final product.

And here's the recipe:

Cheese Risotto
Serves 6-8 as a side dish

• 900 ml chicken or vegetable broth (one tetra pack or better yet, homemade!)


• 1 cup Arborio rice (or other as described in post above)


• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 small to medium sized onion, finely chopped (optional)


• 1/2 cup white wine


• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago (you can use more or less depending on your preferences.


• 2 Tbsp fresh, chopped parsley

Heat broth in a saucepan and keep it at a low simmer on the side - you will need the stock to be hot when you add it to the Arborio rice.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat (not higher or else it wills smoke!). Sauté the onions for a few minutes, or until the onions are soft, then add the garlic and Arborio rice, stirring to coat with oil. Stirring often, let it cook for about 2 minutes or until you see a white spot in the middle of the grains of rice. Pour in the wine, letting it bubble away until the wine is absorbed.

Add a ladle full of broth and let it cook until it is absorbed, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick. Add another ladle full of broth and again let it absorb, again stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick. Repeat.

After about 20-25 minutes of cooking time taste the Arborio rice to see if it is al dente (tender, but still slightly firm to the bite). If it not yet al dente, continue cooking, stirring and adding broth until it is. If you run out of broth you may use hot water, but you need not use up all the hot broth if the rice is done.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Sprinkle with the parsely, serve immediately and Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken and Pumpkin Lasagna

This fall I have been all about the pumpkins, and this was my favourite use: a layer of roasted chicken, kale and mornay sauce, another layer of roasted pumpkin purée and of course, cheese - bocconcini to be exact - all combined into one delicious lasagna. This dish is warm, comforting, and full of colour and flavour.

Creamy Chicken and Pumpkin Lasagna

Here is a list of all the ingredients:

• Fresh or dried pasta sheets - enough for one large pan. Follow instructions on box if you get the boil first variety.
• 1 pint of bocconcini, or more if desired, diced - you want a couple cups worth once diced
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Asiago
• 4 chicken breasts
• 8-10 one inch slices of sugar pumpkin
• 1 large onion, cut into wedges
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large bunch kale, any variety that you prefer
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly chopped herbs - I used oregano and thyme
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk - I used 3%
  
  

My lasagna had three big layers: creamy chicken, pumpkin purée and bocconcini.

Pumpkin Purée:

• 8-10 one inch slices of sugar pumpkin
• 1 large onion, cut into wedges
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly chopped herbs - I used oregano and thyme
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Arrange pumpkin, onion, and garlic on a pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400◦ for about 30 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft and onions and garlic are golden brown. You will have to flip and maybe even remove the garlic and onions before the pumpkin is done to ensure they don't blacken. Let cool. Scoop pumpkin flesh from the rind and purée in food processor with the the onions and garlic, along with any juices, until smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired along with any chopped herbs and the nutmeg.

Creamy Chicken:

Once you have made each component, the instructions are listed below, mix sauce, chicken and kale together. Try not to drink the sauce - it's pure Heaven.

Sauce:

I used Mario Batali's recipe for Béchamel sauce, making it a mornay sauce simply by adding some grated Asiago - about 1/2 cup. You could go with either. The recipe is here.

Roasted Chicken:

• 4 chicken breasts
• Extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Place chicken breats on a pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Roast at 400◦ for 45-50 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Let it cool and cut into cubes.

Kale:

• 1 large bunch of kale, whichever variety you prefer, cut into small pieces with thick stems removed.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in kale and blanch for about 2-5 minutes, or until kale is somewhat softened - I like mine to retain a bit of crunch. Drain and rinse with cold water.

To Assemble:

Now for the fun part! Most of your work is done by this point. Soon you will be enjoying the lovely aromas emanating from your oven.....

• A layer of pasta
• All the creamy chicken mixture
• A layer of pasta
• Most of the bocconcini - reserve about a quarter of it for the top
• A layer of pasta
• The pumpkin purée
• A layer of pasta
• Reserved bocconcini and the Asiago sprinkled on top

Place in a 375◦ oven for about 45 minutes. If top becomes too brown, cover it with foil. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Cut into slices and enjoy!

Wine Pairing: We enjoyed a lovely Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with this creamy lasagna.

Caprese di Forno

This is one of my favourite cold weather dishes. As soon as it's cool enough to use the oven regularly (the high here today in Calgary is only 11!) I promptly assemble this baked version of the traditional insalata caprese. The traditional salad is comprised of mozzarella (ideally mozzarella di bufala campana or fresh buffalo milk mozza), plum tomatoes and basil drizzled with high quality extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. It's an excellent dish to serve on a hot day - very refreshing. Now, since it's not so warm, bake it!

Caprese di Forno

For 4

• 3 medium sized red or yellow potatoes (you choose), thinly sliced and peeled if you like.
• 3 medium sized tomatoes, plum/roma or beefsteak, thinly sliced
• 2 medium sized or one large onion, white or yellow, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs - use: basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
• 1/4 cup water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350◦.

In a round dish (I used a big pie plate) spread the sliced onion evenly over the bottom. Salt and pepper. Next arrange a slice of potato then tomato and so on, starting at the edge to the pan, so that they are overlapping (see picture). Continue until all potato and tomato slices are used up. You may do more than one layer depending on the size of your pan and how much you want to make - just remember to salt and pepper each layer.

Pour water evenly over top of dish. Next, evenly sprinkly on the herbs and the cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper.

Bake for about 1 hour or until potato is tender and the cheese is golden. If the cheese starts to brown too early just cover the dish with a piece of tinfoil.

Serve and enjoy!!

Chicken Mirabilis

The inspiration for this dish came from a book that I was reading about Vesuvius' explosion and the fall of Pompeii. In it were many detailed dinners and feasts with Roman decadence and opulence being the main course. Chicken skewers are of course not your typical "fancy" fare; rather it is the ingredients used in the marinade that were the result of my inspiration. Honey, wine, lemon, herbs - all these ingredients, being simple alone, yet rather lavish together, bring my thoughts to the Mediterranean.

The name for this dish is inspired by the Piscina Mirabilis - the pool of miracles I believe is the translation - which is a large cistern that is the terminal outlet of the Serino aqueduct that was built during the Augustan age. I hope the flavours in this chicken are a miracle to your tongue as this feat of engineering was a miracle to the Romans!

Chicken Mirabilis

• 4 chicken breasts, skin removed and cubed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup white wine (try a pinot grigio, trebbiano or sauvignon blanc)
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cup mixed, chopped fresh herbs (I used oregano, rosemary, lavender and thyme), mint would also be nice
• salt and pepper

Place the chicken and all marinade ingredients in a large shallow dish so the chicken is well covered in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours or longer if time permits.

Thread the chicken cubes onto skewers. Heat your grill to medium and grill chicken skewers until golden brown and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side.

Wine pairing: serve with the same wine that you used to marinate the chicken with. I suggested a pinot grigio, trebianno or a sauvignon blanc, but if you can get one try a Frascati. This "golden wine" has been drunk in and around Rome for almost 2 thousand years. It comes in either dry or sweet varieties, even as a spumante. Look for a young frascati as this type of wine is not made to age.

If you would rather drink a red you may - try a light red like a dolcetto or a pinot noir.

Enjoy!

Wild Rice Risotto

A couple weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner who are from Bulgaria. When they invited us to their house for dinner Slavy made a very delicious and excitingly ethnic array of Bulgarian food for us to sample. When it was their turn to come over for dinner we really wanted to offer some dishes that had a Canadian twist and hopefully something they hadn't had the chance to try before.

I come from a lake town in Northwestern Ontario. There, along the shoreline in certain places, grows wild rice. Given this, I generally have a small store of it in my cupboard. Besides maple syrup, wild rice is very Canadian - and better yet it symbolizes "home" for me - so it was something special and personal I wanted to share with our new friends as they had been so generous when they invited us to their home. Wild rice has a great nutty flavour, is great with poultry and game, and luckily for us, I have the tastier "wild" version (rather than cultivated).

I served the wild rice risotto with a herbed roasted chicken and roasted vegetables - just the thing for a cold Canadian winter dinner! That oven always warms up the kitchen so nicely - as well as warming up my appetite!

So, here is my recipe, it's pretty simple to whip up and I can guarantee that you'll like it. I used a variety of mushrooms that I found at the supermarket - but if you have access to wild mushrooms, I think that would make this dish very special.

Wild Rice Risotto
Serves 6-8 as a side dish

• 900 ml chicken or vegetable broth (always opt for the low-sodium if you don't have homemade)
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1 cup Arborio rice (you may use a short or medium-grained white rice if you can't find this)
• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small to medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms (I used brown button, portobello and cremini)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago (you can use more or less depending on your preferences. Parmigiano-Reggiano would also be nice, but I adore Asiago and it's cheaper than fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 2 Tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
• salt and pepper

In a medium-sized saucepan cover the wild rice with water by a good inch. You may use broth instead, just remember to buy extra, beyond the 900 ml called for in this recipe. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer over low heat for 45-50 minutes, or until some of the rice has "popped" and is slightly soft. It will still be slightly chewy - you do not want to cook it until it is all popped or else it will be watery and mushy. Drain.

Heat stock in a saucepan and keep it at a low simmer on the side - you will need the stock to be hot when you add it to the Arborio rice.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onions and mushrooms for a few minutes, or until the onions are soft, then add the garlic. Add the Arborio rice, stirring to coat with oil. Stirring often, let it cook for about 2 minutes or until you see a white spot in the middle of the grains of rice. Pour in the wine, letting it bubble away until the wine is absorbed.

Add a ladle full of broth with some of the wild rice and let it cook until it is absorbed, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick. Add another ladle full of broth with some wild rice and again let it absorb, again stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick. Repeat.

After about 20 minutes of cooking time taste the Arborio rice to see if it is al dente (tender, but still slightly firm to the bite). Add some salt and pepper. If it not yet al dente, continue cooking, stirring and adding broth until it is. General cooking time is between 25-35 minutes. If you run out of broth you may use hot water, but you need not use up all the hot broth if the rice is done. Just make sure you get all the wild rice in there!

Remove from heat and stir in the butter, cheese and parsely. Serve immediately and Enjoy!

Garlic Pasta

What stinky breath? Well, that' s exactly what this dish will give you! But, what does that matter when your stomach and tastebuds will be happily soaking up the garlicky goodness of this recipe? Besides, it keeps the vampires away!

Garlic Pasta

Ingredients:

• One whole head of garlic, or more


• About ¼ cup olive oil, maybe a bit more depending on how much pasta you are making. (You want to have enough oil in your pan so the garlic can brown, it does not have to be submerged.)


• Pasta (I like vermicelli or angel hair with this one)


• Freshly grated parmigiano reggiano


• Freshly ground black pepper


• Optional ingredients include: olives, capers, sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.
Break up your head of garlic and smash each clove with a heavy knife to easily and quickly remove the skin. If the garlic cloves are huge cut them in half (the point is, you want more or less uniform sized pieces of garlic).
Pour your olive oil into a small or medium sized saucepan and add the garlic or any other optional ingredient(s). Cook this on low, and stir every once and a while.
Once you make this a few times everything should be done at the same time. Once the garlic is brown, turn it off! It will taste bitter if overcooked.
Drain the pasta and dump all the olive oil and garlic in and toss (you can do this through a strainer if you think there might be too much oil).
Grate some fresh parmigiano reggiano on top and sprinkle with pepper (fresh if you have it).

This recipe is so simple, but it’s great.

Stink away and Enjoy!