risotto al cioccolato

That's chocolate risotto to you and me.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup arborio rice
8  cups of milk
4 tablespoons sugars
1 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt the unsalted butter in a sauté pan and add the rice and stir for about a minute. Heat the milk in a saucepan or a micowave safe dish. Don't boil it, but get it good and hot so that it doesn't lower the temperature of the risotto when it's added. Pour about a cup and a half of milk into the pan and stir until the milk is almost absorbed. Add the sugar and another cup and a half do milk. You will need to stir almost continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring until the milk is absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the risotto has reduced to a creamy consistency. Let sit covered for about ten minutes before serving.

I served the dessert topped with marscapone cheese that was mixed with confectioner’s sugar and some fresh berries.

Serves 8-10.

Peace,
Milton

sweet potato, roasted corn, and plantain risotto

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small dice.

1 1/2 cup corn kernels
1 1/2 cups small diced plantains, not overly ripe
olive oil

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water, combined with stock and heated

Let’s start with the sweet potato: you can either roast or boil it. To roast, toss the diced potatoes in some olive oil with salt and pepper and then spread on a baking sheet. Cook at 375 for about fifteen to twenty minutes, until brown and soft. To boil, cover with water and bring to a boil. Let cook for ten minutes or so – until potatoes are soft. Drain before adding to risotto.

Heat a flat-sided sauté pan and add olive oil. I choose to do these separately, even though it takes a little more time. Let the plantains get browned and soft, then set aside. Add more olive oil. Cook the corn until it really starts to caramelize, then add the rice to the pan and stir for about a minute. Pour in wine and deglaze the pan. When the wine has almost evaporated, begin to add the stock/water in batches – about a cup and a half at a time. The mixture should be bubbling, but not on high heat. When the liquid is almost gone, add more until you use you what you have.
After the second infusion of stock, I add the sweet potatoes so they can cook into the risotto a bit. I add the plantains after the third infusion. When you get down to the end of the stock, Keep stirring until the mixture is thick, but still shows a bit of liquid. Turn off heat, stir well, and let sit for about ten minutes before serving.
I often add about a cup and a half of cheddar cheese to this recipe, but leave it out when I am serving it with the Pimento Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops.

Peace,
Milton

risotto with chicken and beet greens

The recipe was inspired by my trip to the Durham Farmers' Market this morning, where I got some heirloom beets that came with the greens still attached.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups beet greens, with stems
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 boneless chicken breast, diced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups water or chicken stock*
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the stems off the beet greens and cut them into a small dice. They will look like little pieces of celery. Stack the green leaves on top of each other and roll them up and then slice them thinly (a chiffonade) so you get long thin strands of greens.

Heat the oil in a deep-sided skillet and add the stems. Cook for about three minutes. Add chicken and cook until done. Add garlic and greens and cook for another two or three minutes, then add the rice. Stir a minute more and add the wine. When the wine has almost dissipated, add the water or stock one cup at a time, waiting until it is absorbed before adding more, which will take about fifteen or twenty minutes. Stir the rice frequently. When the liquid has been mostly absorbed and the rice is soft, stir in the Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand about ten minutes before serving.

*If you are boiling the beets, save the water and use it for the risotto, which will give it a lovely pink color. If you do this, also substitute red wine for the white, which will intensify the color.

Peace,
Milton