Leek Risotto

On a quiet evening, my husband and I found ourselves alone.   There were no children in the house bounding down the stairs, no phone ringing off the hook or doorbell chime asking if Emma could play.  { Total silence}  We ate dinner slowly, with candle light and a glass of wine, talking about house projects and other thoughts we hadn't been able to communicate yet.   It. Was. Pure. Bliss.   That night I made Leek Risotto and finished it with with sliced grilled chicken we had leftover from the night before.   It was an amazing meal that I had to share!

Leek Risotto

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 leeks, greens trimmed, cut in half, rinsed and sliced
• 1 C arborio rice
• 4 C chicken stock
• 1/2 C cream
• 1/3 C Parmesan, grated
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:   Heat the chicken stock in a small pot over medium heat.   I removed the fibrous green tops from the leeks and cut them in half which makes it easier to clean the sand and grit away.   Pat dry and slice thinly.   In a saute pan, add olive oil and sliced leeks and cook over medium heat until the leeks are tender.   Remove to a small bowl and set aside.  In the same pan, saute the arborio rice for a few minutes.   When most of the rice has become white, add your first ladle of simmering chicken stock, stirring frequently until almost all of the broth has been absorbed.   Then add another ladle of broth, and keep stirring.   Do this until all the chicken stock is gone.   Remove rice from heat and add in cream and Parmesan, stirring well.   Add the leeks back into the rice and this is where I added sliced cooked chicken into the risotto.   Season with salt and pepper and serve.   This made 2 large servings which was perfect for a meal!

Asparagus Risotto

I have been in a fog for the past several days once we returned home from being evacuated due to the Steiner Ranch fires.  We are trying to get back to normal, though the fire is still only 80% contained and there are flare ups often.   Today after hearing sirens and seeing StarFlight, I thought "here we go again" then sadly found out later that a Sheriff who had been protecting our neighborhood died of a heart attack.   What is normal now?

They shut the power grid to our subdivision off during the fires so you can imagine what the status of our refrigerators was.   Almost everything had to go and we have been back and forth to the grocery store twice this week alone.  A note of thank you to HEB, who gave every Steiner Ranch family $5.00 off their bill at checkout.   That was a very kind gesture.

At our last grocery outing I saw a small bag of arborio rice and grabbed it.   Yesterday afternoon I pulled out some asparagus and knew it would be perfect to add to my risotto.   The Bionic Man bought two Sea Bass steaks as well and we had the fixings for a lovely, peaceful dinner.   I enlisted the help of our daughter, Emma, who likes to be in the kitchen the same time as me, and she was the perfect little stirrer and monitor for the risotto.   I hope this recipe helps you to create the same serene setting as it did for us!

Asparagus Risotto

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 C arborio rice
• 1 C white wine
• 4 1/2 C chicken stock, simmering on the stove
• 2 T butter
• 1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1/2 " pieces
• salt to taste
• Parmesan, freshly grated

Directions:   In a stock pot over medium-low heat, bring chicken stock to a simmer.   In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the shallot, cooking for a few minutes.   Add the arborio rice and saute another 5 minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn.   Add the 1 C of wine and continue stirring (watching) until it is almost evaporated.   Then, systematically add 1/2 C chicken stock to rice, stirring to incorporate. When it is almost completely absorbed, add another 1/2 C chicken stock.   Repeat until almost all the stock has been used.   Add 1/2 of the chopped asparagus at this point so it can cook (not the tips) and finish using the chicken stock by the method above.   This usually takes upward of 15-20 minutes.

While adding stock to your risotto, and in a separate little fry pan, melt the 2 T butter and saute 1/2 of the chopped asparagus (include the tips here).   Hold as this will be the garnish.

Remove Risotto from heat once the chicken stock is gone.   Rice should be creamy and tender but not mushy and the asparagus should be steamed but again, not mushy at all.   Taste, season with salt, stir and taste again.   Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese directly into the rice and stir once more to incorporate.

Plate the risotto and top with the sauted asparagus and serve.   We added a simple pan seared piece of Sea Bass next to our risotto and topped both is the sauted asparagus for a delicious meal.

asparagus risotto with seared sea bass