Risotto | Shadowcook

from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Jerusalem, p. 109.

I dreaded looking at the date of my last post. July, 2012. And now I see that the last recipe I posted was also a one by Ottolenghi. I suppose he’s been a lot on my mind.

I have to confess that I went a while without cooking much. Now that the weather has cooled and I’m often writing at my table, it’s nice to have a task to turn away to when I need perspective. Happily, Ottolenghi’s terrific new cookbook has given me lots of opportunities to step away.

Of the three cookbooks he has produced this one is the best, in my opinion. From the standpoint of shelf appeal, it has far more recipes that look interesting than ones that don’t. And now that I’ve tried eight of them, I can vouch for more of them than I could in his other books. Some of the recipes in his previous books erupted like brain farts. But when they worked, they were the creative outbursts of a genius mind. This time, Ottolenghi got his cookbook mojo together.

To give you an idea of how appealing the book is, here are the recipes I’ve made — then I’ll describe making the risotto.

Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za’atar
Roasted cauliflower & hazelnut salad [with celery and pomegranate seeds, flavored with cinnamon and allspice]
Shakshuka [a tomato-red pepper sauce with the flavors of cumin and an egg poached in it at the last minute]
Swiss chard with tahini, yogurt & buttered pine nuts
Wheat berries & swiss chard with pomegranate molasses
Chicken with caramelized onion & cardamom rice
Lamb meatballs with barberries, shallots, yogurt & herbs
Saffron chicken & herb salad (which doesn’t begin to do justice to this salad made sliced fennel, cilantro, mint, basil, with an orange-honey-saffron vinaigrette reduction)

The only recipe that failed to meet my expectations was the one with wheat berries. It took forever for them to soften — and I made sure to buy the ones described as soft. A friend of mine had no better luck when she tried the recipe. Otherwise, I enjoyed the others. Ottolenghi is unusual in his ability to consistently and successfully surprise home cooks. Sometimes the surprise comes in the combination of flavors. At other moments it’s the addition of one seemingly banal element that transforms the dish. Sauteing pine nuts in butter is an example of the latter kind of surprise. Buttered pine nuts is his main party trick in this volume. Try it. The following risotto falls into the category of Surprise Caused by Combination of Flavors: feta, caraway, and smoked paprika.

To sum up, Jerusalem is well worth a pilgrimage to your nearest independent bookseller. I haven’t cooked so much from one book since… when? Ruth Reichl’s Gourmet Cookbook? Naomi Duguid’s Beyond the Great Wall? Anything by Marcella Hazan? A cookbook writer for the ages.

So, to begin…

1 cup / 200g pearl barley

2 Tb / 30g unsalted butter

6 Tb / 90ml olive oil

2 small celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 small shallots, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 garlic cloves, cut into 1/16-inch / 2mm dice

Shadowcook: Really, Yotam? It wouldn’t have been sufficient to say “finely diced”?

4 thyme sprigs

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Shadowcook: I used pimetón. It added a lovely aftertaste of smoke — until, that is, the caraway kicked in.

1 bay leaf

4 strips lemon peel

1/4 tsp chile flakes

Shadowcook: I experimented with Aleppo pepper, but now I think red pepper flakes would have given it a firmer boost.

one 14-oz / 400g can chopped tomatoes

scant 3 cups / 700ml vegetable stock

Shadowcook: I used chicken broth.

1 1/4 cups / 300ml passata (sieved crushed tomatoes)

Shadowcook: Seemed unnecessary, so I left it out and I’m glad I did. The ratio of liquid to grain worked quite well without it.

1 Tb caraway seeds

Shadowcook: Too much. I would cut this amount in half next time. The caraway overwhelms the paprika, lemon peel, and chile flakes.

10 1/2 oz / 300g feta cheese, broken into roughly 3/4-inch / 2cm pieces

1 Tb fresh oregano leaves

Rinse the pearl barley well under cold water and leave to drain.

Melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a very large frying pan and cook the celery, shallots, and garlic over gentle heat for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the barley, thyme, paprika, bay leaf, lemon peel, chile flakes, tomatoes, stock, passata, and salt. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the risotto does not catch on the bottom of the pan. When ready, the barley should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed.

Meanwhile, toast the caraway seeds in a dry pan for a couple of minutes. Then lightly crush them so that some whole seeds remain. Add them to the feta with the remaining 4 tablespoons / 60ml olive oil and gently mix to combine.

Once the risotto is ready, check the seasoning and then divide it among four shallow bowls. Top each with marinated feta, including the oil, and a sprinkling of oregano leaves.

My own adaptation.

Two moods settled over me today. I was in the mood for the smooth sauce of a poached egg yolk at the same time that I felt like making an asparagus risotto. Egg and asparagus: the last gasps of Easter.

The runny egg yolk was easy. The more difficult task was intensifying the flavor of asparagus in the carnaroli rice enriched with chicken stock. It occurred to me that putting some of the asparagus in a blender had potential.

In the following recipe, I use 1 cup of rice, which produced enough risotto for three meals. If you’re not used to making risotto, read through the instructions before starting. You’ll need a few pots and time to organize yourself.

The following proportions are for the 1 cup, enough for 2 people or two or three meals:

1 lb asparagus

Olive oil

1/2 onion or 1 shallot 0r 1 green garlic, chopped

1 cup arborio or, better yet, carnaroli, rice

2 cups chicken broth

Kosher salt

Parmesan cheese, grated (preferably parmigiano reggiano)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Bring a big pot of well-salted water to boil (lots of salt and lots of room in the water help the asparagus retain their bright color). While the water is coming to a boil, cut an inch off the thick ends of the asparagus spears. Either save them for making asparagus soup later or discard. Cut the spears in half. Slice the lower halves into chunks and set aside. You will eventually puree these. Then, slice at an angle the spear tips into slices. Set them to the side. These you will add to the rice shortly before the rice has completed cooking.

When the big pot of water is boiling, drop the asparagus pieces you’ll puree into the water and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Scoop out with slotted spoon or wire-mesh spider into a strainer and run under cold water. Drop the remaining asparagus pieces (the sliced tips) into the water to blanch for 2-3 minutes. While they’re in the water, put the already-blanched asparagus pieces into a blender. Add a little water to moisten them. Puree and let them sit in the blender jar until you’re ready to add them to the risotto. Scoop the asparagus spears still in the water into a strainer and run them under cold water to stop them from cooking.

Bring the chicken stock to barely a simmer in a saucepan on the stove. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, heat over a low-to-medium flame a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Sauté the chopped onion, shallot or green garlic until softened. Pour in the one cup of rice and stir to coat with the oil and sauteed onion. Stir to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom. When the rice has turned translucent, add a ladle of chicken broth to the rice, stir, and adjust heat so that it barely simmers.

For unsubstantiated and probably superstitious reasons, I don’t add salt (or wine) to a risotto until well after the rice has begun to soften.

Meanwhile, keep stirring the rice to prevent it from sticking to the bottom as it absorbs the chicken broth. Think of each ladleful of broth as a layer of flavor. Don’t add another scoop of broth until the previous one has been almost completely absorbed. Stretch out the addition of broth so that the rice simmers slowly for 20 to 30 mins. The risotto should not bubble vigorously. Every once in a while, taste the rice to determine how soft it has become.

When the rice barely has any bite left to it, season it with salt. Add the last ladle of broth and simmer until the rice is soft and creamy. Pour the asparagus puree into the risotto; add the blanched asparagus tips. Add half of the grated cheese. Stir the risotto vigorously, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit. (If I wasn’t about to add an egg yolk, I’d put a small pat of butter in with the cheese.)

Meanwhile, poach an egg. Bring a small saucepan of water deep enough to cover an egg to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar. Reduce the flame so that the water softly boils. Crack an egg into a very small bowl, hold it to the lip of the saucepan and tip it into the water. Cook the egg for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.

Season the risotto if you find it needs salt. Scoop a third of the rice into a serving bowl. Remove the now poached egg from the water, let the water drain off it, and place on top of the risotto. Break apart to let the yolk run over the mound of rice. Serve yourself immediately. Save the other two-thirds of the risotto for experimenting with leftovers.

Note to self for leftovers: instead of poaching an egg, separate a yolk from egg whites. As soon as risotto serving is hot and ready to be eaten, create a depression in the mound of rice and pour the raw egg yolk into it. Serve immediately. If I were serving this for two people, I’d beg my friend Spring to give up one of her duck eggs. That would be delicious.