Cutting corners.
If you have read my previous post about patience you’ll know that I have very little of it… except when it comes to cooking. I will not tolerate waiting in line for a sandwich but I can stand over a pot and stir a risotto for ages. There is something about the stirring that brings me joy and comfort. However, time is not the kind of corner that I am writing about. It’s the expense of ingredients.
I try my best to stay faithful to a recipe when I am cooking. However, I am not opposed to substituting, adding or eliminating ingredients if I find them unnecessary, difficult to find, or ridiculously expensive. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I approached the cheese counter at the local delicatessen only to find that the fontina cheese that this recipe called for was $65.99 per kilogram. Good golly! Although the recipe only asks for 100g making the purchase $6.59, I could not bring my self to spend so much when this was merely for a weekday dinner. I had a block of parmesan cheese in the fridge at home and decided to stick with that.
The recipe also called for 3 tablespoons of parsley. I do not have the luck of having a pot of parsley growing on my window sill… maybe one day I will. The parsley was $2.98 a bunch at the local greengrocer and I consider it wasteful to purchase a large bunch only to use 10% and have the rest rotting at the bottom of the fridge. So, I decided to do away with that ingredient and not use a substitute.
Now, with all of that in mind I spent $16.00 on ingredients for this utterly delicious risotto. Pizzaboy ate more than half the pot and complained that he had eaten too much. I ate two-thirds of what I photographed and I was full. We had enough leftover for lunch the next day. If I did not make any substitutes it would have cost $25.00
Although my risotto may not be regarded as authentic with all the changes, I am quite proud to say that it was a dream to make and devour.
Recipe adapted from Valvona & Crolla by Mary Contini
Ingredients
1 litre of Vegetable or Chicken Stock
100g unsalted butter
1 brown onion, finely chopped
300g Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
250g cremini or porcini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
50g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/ Place the stock in a small pot and bring to a simmer
2/ Meanwhile, heat half the butter in a shallow, heavy-based saucepan on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent.
3/ Stir in the rice, coating all the grains with the butter and onion mixture. Then add the wine and boil until the alcohol has evaporated, 3-4 minutes
4/ Add all the mushrooms, stir gently. As the mushrooms start to release their juices, add a ladleful of hot stock, stir into the rice and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat this step until most of the stock has been used.
5/ Stir in remaining butter and the parmesan cheese. Check the seasoning and serve immediately, piping hot, with more freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Tips from the cookbookmaniac
* I could not find porcini mushrooms, so I used swiss brown mushrooms instead. They worked out fine.
* Stir the risotto occasionally. Stirring it constantly will activate the starch and you will end up with a goopy mess rather than a creamy risotto.
* Make sure the stock is simmering hot before you add it to the rice
* If you like your risotto moist, take the pot off the stove and then add the last ladle of stock. It will be absorbed whilst the rice is resting.
* Check for seasoning before you add the last ladle of stock
* Valvona & Crolla is one of my favourite cookbooks
Comments
Yen@foodforfour
March 31, 2010 at 7:51 amThis risotto looks perfect and delicious. Also thanks for the tip on my blog, I always thought I over-stir my risotto.
Anh
March 31, 2010 at 9:35 amLovely risotto!
And ya, cheese can be really expensive! 🙁 BTW, we don’t have fresh porcini in Aus (I think sometimes we can get the frozen ones, but again, really costly). A bit of dry porcini, soaked in hot water, would improve the flavors of the risotto greatly 🙂
Tangled Noodle
March 31, 2010 at 2:35 pmI’m definitely price-sensitive when it comes to ingredients, but I do take it on a recipe by recipe basis. Sometimes, I’ll feel it’ll be well worth the extra expense and other times, something’s gotta give! And to me, authenticity of a dish will always take a backseat to flavors and enjoyment of the end result. This risotto looks so delightful!
Sonya
March 31, 2010 at 8:42 pmHave you tried carnaroli rice in risotto before? It is more expensive but I love the stuff. I am a rural girl so it is one of the first things on my shopping list when I head to the city. I agree with Anh…a bit of dried porchini does amazing things to a mushroom risotto. Not the cheapest of ingredients but a little goes a long way. Then I add the soaking water with the stock.
Amy @ cookbookmaniac
March 31, 2010 at 8:52 pmThanks for the kudos and tips!
Yen, gotta love masterchef for the cooking tips!
Anh, the vege shop near where I work sells dried porcini, I might buy it for my next adventure into mushroom cooking.
Tangled Noodle, you understand my predicament. You are a true frugalfoodiefriend!
Sonya, the supermarket only sells arborio rice, I think I might have to hunt down carnaroli.
Angie
March 31, 2010 at 9:05 pmIsn’t it an awesome feeling when you end up with the perfect risotto? I know that years ago when I first started to cook risotto they would always end up either undercooked slightly or too mushy or undercooked and mushy at the same time! With practice (and reading) I have finally tamed the risotto.
I know what you mean with “cutting corners” though I am definately guilty of buying a bunch of herbs or a block of cheese to have it spoil in the fridge because I didn’t make use of the leftovers. Heck I’ve even splurged on a $10 punnet of blueberries in winter because I just simply felt like making a crumble and thought pears and blueberries would go well together. Sometimes we do crazy things for food.
panda
March 31, 2010 at 11:42 pmi know exactly what you mean! i’ll easily get frustated standing in a queue but i’m more than happy to stand over the stove to stir a pot of risotto for a good half hour 🙂 anyway, i reckon you’ve been rather resourceful with this recipe, good work!
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella
April 1, 2010 at 12:40 amI find stirring risotto quite hypnotic and a good way to unwind after a long day-sometimes of course you just can’t be bothered but if you have a nice night in it’s relaxing!
Angie’s Recipes
April 1, 2010 at 6:31 pmThe mushroom risotto looks sooooooooooooooooo delicious! I would love to add more parmesan atop!
Reeni
April 2, 2010 at 1:33 amThis looks perfect and absolutely delicious! I know what you mean about stirring the pot – I find it therapeutic and comforting!
foodwink
April 2, 2010 at 9:19 amLooks delicious!!! In fact, I should remind myself to not to view your blog on an empty stomach. As for “cutting corners”, I’m a serial offender. No celery? Leave it out. No bay leaves and parsley for the bouquet garni? Leave them out. And then I wondered why my lamb shanks tasted weird. Sorry, I better stop rambling and get something to eat.
MaryMoh
April 2, 2010 at 9:12 pmLooks creamy and delicious. I would love to have a bowl now 😛
Michelle
April 20, 2010 at 10:14 ami know exactly what you mean! i’ll easily get frustated standing in a queue but i’m more than happy to stand over the stove to stir a pot of risotto for a good half hour 🙂 anyway, i reckon you’ve been rather resourceful with this recipe, good work!