Saturday, February 27, 2010

Risotto with peas - Risi e Bisi

I've read that risotto is quite an intimidating dish to cook. After a few recipes cooking risotto, I am really getting the hang of cooking this grain ; it is quite enjoyable!
How creamy the end result should be is still a a question mark for me, but this last risotto was a real treat.

I simply used the previous recipe as a base and substitute the squash with peas, served with camembert and sprinkled fresh dill .... yum!
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Squash Risotto


In an effort to learn to cook risotto, we've been eating it once a week for the past three week! I have to say, this recipe is the best tasting thus far. I already planned to cook it again next week ;)

Simple Squash Risotto

recipe from BBC GoodFood


Ingredients

1 butternut squash

4 tbsp light olive oil
600ml vegetable stock

50g unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped
**omitted, not avaulable
2 garlic cloves , crushed

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, picked
** used a pinch of dried thyme instead
140g risotto rice (we like carnaroli)
** used 100g of arborio rice
100ml white wine

50g Parmesan, finely grated
** sprinkled with feta instead
** added fried bacon for sprinkling

Method
  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Peel the squash and separate the bulbous seed-bearing section from the slender end. Chop the slender end into 2cm cubes, toss in half the oil, season lightly and roast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown on the outside and soft in the centre, about 30 mins. Cut the bulb in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon - you can keep these to toast in the oven and sprinkle over salads. Chop the flesh into 2cm pieces. Warm the vegetable stock in a small pan, set over a low heat. Drop in squash and leave to gently poach.

  2. While the squash is roasting, warm a medium-size frying pan over a gentle heat. Add the remaining olive oil and half the butter, followed by the onion. Cover and cook for 3 mins until the onion turns translucent. Stir in the celery, garlic, herbs and a few turns of pepper (no salt at this stage). Cover again and cook for a further 2 mins. Increase the heat slightly and stir in the rice. Stir, uncovered, for about 5 mins - this will help to develop the toasty aroma of the rice without burning the veg.

  3. Turn up the heat, stir in the wine and let it bubble away to almost nothing. Reduce the heat and start adding the stock. Add one ladle at a time, stirring gently but constantly during each addition. The idea is to encourage the rice to absorb the liquid and soften, but also give up its starch to thicken the remaining broth. Don't stir too aggressively or you will end up with a pan of mush. When the stock has been absorbed, it's time to add the next ladleful and so on. It will take about 15 mins to reach the final ladle of stock. By this time the squash in the stock should have softened. Mash it up with the remaining stock and stir into the risotto.

  4. Turn off the heat, dot the top of the risotto with remaining butter and most of the Parmesan, cover, leave to rest for 2 mins, then stir through and check the seasoning. Spoon the risotto into shallow bowls and sprinkle the roasted squash and leftover Parmesan on top.


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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Savoury Glutinous Rice (Lor Mai Kai) but using Arborio rice

Arborio rice was used in the absence of glutinous rice. In result, the dish doesn't have the sticky texture that cooked glutinous rice gives ; which helps bind the rice. But individual arborio grain does have that chewy-ness. Not bad at all.

Recipe from here

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Monday, February 08, 2010

Poppy Seed Cake

This was gorgeous and still nice without the vanilla butter-cream icing as stated in the recipe. I have reduced the amount of sugar and it worked out fine. Made it for MIL who is a fan of poppy seeds and she loved it too!

Recipe from here

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Friday, February 05, 2010

Walnut cookies

Chinese new year is fast approaching, this year falling on valentine's day! This cookie is one of the must treats during the festive season. Coarsely ground peanuts are the main ingredients ; however, I have substituted it with left over ground walnut which worked out fine .

Recipe from here




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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Risotto with peas - Risi e Bisi

I've read that risotto is quite an intimidating dish to cook. After a few recipes cooking risotto, I am really getting the hang of cooking this grain ; it is quite enjoyable!
How creamy the end result should be is still a a question mark for me, but this last risotto was a real treat.

I simply used the previous recipe as a base and substitute the squash with peas, served with camembert and sprinkled fresh dill .... yum!
AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Squash Risotto


In an effort to learn to cook risotto, we've been eating it once a week for the past three week! I have to say, this recipe is the best tasting thus far. I already planned to cook it again next week ;)

Simple Squash Risotto

recipe from BBC GoodFood


Ingredients

1 butternut squash

4 tbsp light olive oil
600ml vegetable stock

50g unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped
**omitted, not avaulable
2 garlic cloves , crushed

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, picked
** used a pinch of dried thyme instead
140g risotto rice (we like carnaroli)
** used 100g of arborio rice
100ml white wine

50g Parmesan, finely grated
** sprinkled with feta instead
** added fried bacon for sprinkling

Method
  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Peel the squash and separate the bulbous seed-bearing section from the slender end. Chop the slender end into 2cm cubes, toss in half the oil, season lightly and roast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown on the outside and soft in the centre, about 30 mins. Cut the bulb in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon - you can keep these to toast in the oven and sprinkle over salads. Chop the flesh into 2cm pieces. Warm the vegetable stock in a small pan, set over a low heat. Drop in squash and leave to gently poach.

  2. While the squash is roasting, warm a medium-size frying pan over a gentle heat. Add the remaining olive oil and half the butter, followed by the onion. Cover and cook for 3 mins until the onion turns translucent. Stir in the celery, garlic, herbs and a few turns of pepper (no salt at this stage). Cover again and cook for a further 2 mins. Increase the heat slightly and stir in the rice. Stir, uncovered, for about 5 mins - this will help to develop the toasty aroma of the rice without burning the veg.

  3. Turn up the heat, stir in the wine and let it bubble away to almost nothing. Reduce the heat and start adding the stock. Add one ladle at a time, stirring gently but constantly during each addition. The idea is to encourage the rice to absorb the liquid and soften, but also give up its starch to thicken the remaining broth. Don't stir too aggressively or you will end up with a pan of mush. When the stock has been absorbed, it's time to add the next ladleful and so on. It will take about 15 mins to reach the final ladle of stock. By this time the squash in the stock should have softened. Mash it up with the remaining stock and stir into the risotto.

  4. Turn off the heat, dot the top of the risotto with remaining butter and most of the Parmesan, cover, leave to rest for 2 mins, then stir through and check the seasoning. Spoon the risotto into shallow bowls and sprinkle the roasted squash and leftover Parmesan on top.


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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Savoury Glutinous Rice (Lor Mai Kai) but using Arborio rice

Arborio rice was used in the absence of glutinous rice. In result, the dish doesn't have the sticky texture that cooked glutinous rice gives ; which helps bind the rice. But individual arborio grain does have that chewy-ness. Not bad at all.

Recipe from here

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Monday, February 08, 2010

Poppy Seed Cake

This was gorgeous and still nice without the vanilla butter-cream icing as stated in the recipe. I have reduced the amount of sugar and it worked out fine. Made it for MIL who is a fan of poppy seeds and she loved it too!

Recipe from here

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Friday, February 05, 2010

Walnut cookies

Chinese new year is fast approaching, this year falling on valentine's day! This cookie is one of the must treats during the festive season. Coarsely ground peanuts are the main ingredients ; however, I have substituted it with left over ground walnut which worked out fine .

Recipe from here




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