Risotto is an odd food for me. It is very much a comfort food, something that I make to console myself, especially during the winter. And yet unlike many comfort foods, it has no connection whatsoever to my youth. I'm not sure how old I was when I first had risotto, but I'm reasonably certain that I was past 25. Curious, then, how my brain files it under "Comfort Foods—cf. cozy, domestic."
You can put pretty much any cooked vegetable into a risotto, which makes it rather handy for clearing out leftovers, should you feel the need to do so. My go-to risotto is asparagus and mushroom (preferably with some pancetta or bacon), and I will post that on this blog at some point, despite the fact that asparagus will not be in season again until March. I have no objection to eating seasonally, but sometimes I crave asparagus in December. So sue me.
Anyway, this particular recipe is from Nigella Lawson's new book Nigellissima, which is quite good despite the twee title. It's a saffron risotto with crab, chilies, and arugula (known as rocket in the UK, for some reason). As you can see from the photos, it's pretty as hell.
You begin by warming some chicken stock with a bit of saffron in a saucepan. You also sauté some green onions, minced red chili, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat (Nigella uses garlic-infused oil, which I am not fond of—perhaps she has access to better quality stuff than I do). You add the rice and sauté, stirring, until lightly toasted, and then add a slug of white wine, and continue stirring. When the wine has almost evaporated, add a couple of ladlefuls of the saffron-infused stock. You'll have something that looks like this:
I'm guessing you know the drill at this point. You add liquid a ladle or two at a time, stirring the rice, and when the liquid is almost evaporated, you add more. Repeat until the rice is tender. I know that most risotto recipes say that you should stir constantly throughout the cooking process. And that's fine, should you care to. But frankly, I have found that stirring occasionally works just as well; I can step away from the stove, chop something, have some wine, and come back a few minutes later with no ill effects, as long as the risotto hasn't completely boiled dry. I'm making this sound more difficult than it is; my point is that once you've made a risotto or two, you'll get the hang of it and be able to cook one while—forgive the term—multitasking.
Once the rice is tender (which you determine by tasting it), you take it off heat, stir in the crabmeat, lemon, and arugula, and cover the pan for a minute or two. The idea is to gently warm the crabmeat and wilt the arugula slightly.
You then serve it forth. If you are an Italian and/or a purist, you should not add grated cheese to this, because Italians frown on using cheese or other dairy products with seafood. I, however, will not snitch if you do.
Pretty, is it not? But to be totally honest—and I try to be, most of the time—the end product was a little bland for my taste. I'm not sure if that's due to Nigella or to me. I was using up some rather elderly saffron, so although it provided the glorious color you see here, its flavor may not have been full strength. But next time, I would probably add a couple of pinches of salt to the sautéing onions, and I might leave the seeds in the chili as well. It was good, mind you; I just plan to tweak it a bit next time.
From Nigella Lawson, Nigellissima:
Note: Because I got this recipe from the UK edition of the book, the measurements are in the infinitely logical metric system. If that is anathema to you, use 1 quart of stock, 1/3 cup of wine and 1 generous cup of rice and you should be good to go.
Chili Crab Risotto
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 litre light chicken stock
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 Tbl garlic oil (I used standard olive oil and a minced garlic clove)
4 green onions, sliced
1 fresh red chili, de-seeded and chopped
200 g risotto rice
75 ml dry white wine or vermouth
100 g brown crabmeat
100 g white crabmeat
grated zest and just of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
50 g rocket leaves
Add the strands of saffron to the stock, and put it in a saucepan over a low heat, to keep it hot.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, which has a lid, and when warm add the sliced onion, and most of the chopped chili and cook over a medium to low heat for a minute or so. [If you're using minced garlic, add it at the end of this time]
Turn the heat up and add the rice, stirring it into the chili and onions. Add the white wine or vermouth and let this bubble up and be absorbed into the rice. Now add a ladleful of the stock and cook, stirring all the while, until it too is absorbed.
Turn the heat down [to medium, say I] and add another ladleful of hot stock, and cook, stirring constantly until it is absorbed into the rice, then continue in this surprisingly peaceable manner until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked. I reckon on this taking around 18 minutes [see my comments above re the stirring].
Take the pan off the head, add the crabmeat and the lemon zest and juice and stir, then taste for seasoning. Now stir in the rocket leaves, put the lid on, the pan still off the heat, and let it stand for a minute. While you wait you can cut the untouched half lemon into quarters, so you can each spritz more juice into your bowl as you eat—though this is as much to avoid waste as anything else.
Divide the risotto gooily between 2 warmed shallow bowls or plates, sprinkle with the remaining chili, and set to lustily [NL's turn of phrase is one of the reasons I'm a fan].
You begin by warming some chicken stock with a bit of saffron in a saucepan. You also sauté some green onions, minced red chili, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat (Nigella uses garlic-infused oil, which I am not fond of—perhaps she has access to better quality stuff than I do). You add the rice and sauté, stirring, until lightly toasted, and then add a slug of white wine, and continue stirring. When the wine has almost evaporated, add a couple of ladlefuls of the saffron-infused stock. You'll have something that looks like this:
I'm guessing you know the drill at this point. You add liquid a ladle or two at a time, stirring the rice, and when the liquid is almost evaporated, you add more. Repeat until the rice is tender. I know that most risotto recipes say that you should stir constantly throughout the cooking process. And that's fine, should you care to. But frankly, I have found that stirring occasionally works just as well; I can step away from the stove, chop something, have some wine, and come back a few minutes later with no ill effects, as long as the risotto hasn't completely boiled dry. I'm making this sound more difficult than it is; my point is that once you've made a risotto or two, you'll get the hang of it and be able to cook one while—forgive the term—multitasking.
Once the rice is tender (which you determine by tasting it), you take it off heat, stir in the crabmeat, lemon, and arugula, and cover the pan for a minute or two. The idea is to gently warm the crabmeat and wilt the arugula slightly.
You then serve it forth. If you are an Italian and/or a purist, you should not add grated cheese to this, because Italians frown on using cheese or other dairy products with seafood. I, however, will not snitch if you do.
Pretty, is it not? But to be totally honest—and I try to be, most of the time—the end product was a little bland for my taste. I'm not sure if that's due to Nigella or to me. I was using up some rather elderly saffron, so although it provided the glorious color you see here, its flavor may not have been full strength. But next time, I would probably add a couple of pinches of salt to the sautéing onions, and I might leave the seeds in the chili as well. It was good, mind you; I just plan to tweak it a bit next time.
From Nigella Lawson, Nigellissima:
Note: Because I got this recipe from the UK edition of the book, the measurements are in the infinitely logical metric system. If that is anathema to you, use 1 quart of stock, 1/3 cup of wine and 1 generous cup of rice and you should be good to go.
Chili Crab Risotto
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 litre light chicken stock
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 Tbl garlic oil (I used standard olive oil and a minced garlic clove)
4 green onions, sliced
1 fresh red chili, de-seeded and chopped
200 g risotto rice
75 ml dry white wine or vermouth
100 g brown crabmeat
100 g white crabmeat
grated zest and just of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
50 g rocket leaves
Add the strands of saffron to the stock, and put it in a saucepan over a low heat, to keep it hot.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, which has a lid, and when warm add the sliced onion, and most of the chopped chili and cook over a medium to low heat for a minute or so. [If you're using minced garlic, add it at the end of this time]
Turn the heat up and add the rice, stirring it into the chili and onions. Add the white wine or vermouth and let this bubble up and be absorbed into the rice. Now add a ladleful of the stock and cook, stirring all the while, until it too is absorbed.
Turn the heat down [to medium, say I] and add another ladleful of hot stock, and cook, stirring constantly until it is absorbed into the rice, then continue in this surprisingly peaceable manner until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked. I reckon on this taking around 18 minutes [see my comments above re the stirring].
Take the pan off the head, add the crabmeat and the lemon zest and juice and stir, then taste for seasoning. Now stir in the rocket leaves, put the lid on, the pan still off the heat, and let it stand for a minute. While you wait you can cut the untouched half lemon into quarters, so you can each spritz more juice into your bowl as you eat—though this is as much to avoid waste as anything else.
Divide the risotto gooily between 2 warmed shallow bowls or plates, sprinkle with the remaining chili, and set to lustily [NL's turn of phrase is one of the reasons I'm a fan].
Grant--just making my shopping list so checked your blog for inspiration. I agree with you on risotto and comfort food, although I might have been past 25 by a decade or so before I first had it (not sure it was even served in restaurants in norther Minnesota in the 70s and 80s, in my defense). What kind of crab do you use for this recipe? She's likely using canned? Dark and light?? I usually get it fresh from Market Street--unnecessary for this? Going to the chocolate pots next:) jans
ReplyDeleteFar be it from me to argue against the purchase of crabmeat from a seafood store, but I was using prepackaged crab when I made this. I only used the "white" (lump? Her white/brown distinction does not seem to be one we use for crab over here), which may be why mine turned out a little bland, come to think of it.
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