Thursday, May 20, 2010

Good Date, Good Risotto

 I was really hoping to put together a bitter, man-hating cookbook full of vegan recipes and bad date stories. To further that goal, I had a friend over to cook risotto, play scrabble, and drink a bunch of red wine. Secretly, I think I was hoping for some fantastic story about burning down my apartment or him spilling red wine all over my carpet. It would have been great if he got belligerently drunk and had to be forcibly removed from my apartment. Unfortunately, all that happened was that we made a killer risotto and I got my ass kicked in Scrabble. I suppose I could always do a chapter on good dates and good recipes, but I'm not sure how many of the 23 dates I went on between January and May would make it into that category.
So, it looks like it's back to the drawing board on the whole cook-book concept, but there's more than one reason behind that. I can save all that for another post, in the meantime, let's get down to the risotto.
A risotto is created by gently pan-frying grains of aborrio rice and then slowly adding liquid to the rice as it cooks. The secret to risotto is that you have to stand there and stir the rice almost constantly for about 20 minutes. That's what makes risotto the perfect date meal, because you can do all of the exciting work and then make your date stand at the stove and stir it for you. I actually busied myself about the task of making vegan brownies, but it is entirely possible to make up a task on the far side of the kitchen, and as long as it is more interesting than stirring, you would be coming out ahead. Now, this can probably blow up in your face if your date doesn't know what they are doing. It's amazing sometimes how people manage to screw up the simplest things. I was lucky enough to leave my risotto in competent hands and we were rewarded with a risotto so rich and creamy that it's hard to believe it's actually vegan. The mushrooms and peas in this recipe pack in a solid serving of vegetables and the spices that we ended up using were delicious, if a little unconventional. I paired the risotto with a salad, although I suppose you could use it as a side dish. However, it's so delicious that you won't want to touch anything else on your plate and so filling that you don't need anything else for a perfect meal, except maybe some witty banter and a nice glass of pinot noir?

It's About Time Risotto
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 package of mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 c. frozen peas
  • 1 1/2 c. aborrio rice
  • 1/2 c. dry white wine
  • 3 c. vegan vegetable stock
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • salt and pepper
  • pinch of chili powder
  1. Begin by defrosting your peas by running them under hot water in a strainer.
  2. Spray a pan with cooking spray and add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, sauteeing for 2-3 minutes. Add the peas and stir until well heated. Remove from heat.
  3. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, sautee the garlic for 2-3 minutes in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the rice and stir until the rice grains start to get every so faintly toasted. 
  4. Add 1/2 a cup of white wine and stir, cooking until the wine in absorbed. 
  5. Reduce the pan to medium heat and add about 1/2 a cup of vegetable broth. Stir until it is fully absorbed and then add another 1/2 a cup of broth. Add the needles from 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary.
  6. Continue this for 20 minutes or until the rice is soft and tender. If you run out of vegetable broth, just use water. 
  7. Season with salt, pepper, and chili powder and serve immediately.

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