Book of Yum

This week the DH very sweetly offered to make dinner, and one of his favorite things to make is risotto. He loves making risotto as it is a delicious one-dish meal that nevertheless has quite a flavor punch and is a bit gourmet. My sweetie is not one for following recipes, so this is as close as I could get to his steps. If you haven’t made risotto before, don’t stress. Just make sure you have plenty of warmed broth on hand and add it slowly to the rice until the rice becomes soft and creamy. Dill havarti adds a unique character to this dish, and my unconventional add on, kefir, adds tangy creaminess with less fat than the more typical cream addition. Hope you enjoy!

In the spirit of this week’s theme of leftovers, let me just add that risotto makes perfect leftovers, either plain or shaped into balls, breaded and lightly fried in oil. I also just read about a fascinating dish called “Soup with Risotto, a dish made with risotto, eggs, bread crumbs, and clear or brown soup. It is commonly made when one has risotto leftover after a meal. The risotto is made into little balls the size of small nuts. Then are covered in egg and bread crumbs and fried in butter. After being dried they are added to either clear or brown soup.This recipe is not traditional in Italy, however. The balls are made (actually a little bigger than eggs), but they are not added to soup and are rather eaten on their own, and they are locally called supplì.” (source: Wikipedia Interesting!

Other risotto dishes at the book of Yum:
Seven Herb Risotto Recipe with Risotto cake variation for leftovers
Red Onion Vegetarian Risotto with grilled mushroom Recipe
Classic Allergen-Free Risotto Recipe (Dairy-free etc.)

Green Bean Mushroom Dill Risotto with Optional Havarti Recipe Main Course  Rice  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients Small soup pot of Gluten-Free Vegetable Stock (from bullion is fine) 2 to 3 cups Arborio Rice for Risotto 3 shallots or 1/2 large onion, diced 2 tbsp. butter or margarine 1/2 tbsp. olive oil 1/4 cup white wine 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces 8 oz. mushrooms, chopped 1 bay leaf salt pepper dill weed, dry (or fresh if available) optional: 1/4 cup dill havarti, cut into thin slices creme, kefir, or yogurt, for adding to individual servings Directions Heat vegetable stock in the soup pot. Heat butter or margarine and olive oil in a dutch oven or deep pot. Add diced shallot or onion and let start to turn translucent. Add rice and stir. As rice grains turn translucent add your wine and let evaporate away. Add in 1/2 cup or so of stock at a time and stir, letting get absorbed into rice before adding more. After you’ve added stock a few times , add your bay leaf, green beans, and mushrooms and let simmer. Add more stock as needed. Season with salt and pepper and taste as rice grains soften. When rice has absorbed enough liquid to become creamy, taste again. When cooked to your liking, adjust seasonings and let sit on a cool surface for five or ten minutes. To serve, spoon risotto onto a nice bowl or plate and (if desired) sprinkle with havarti cheese slices. Stir in and let begin to melt. If you like, you can add a tablespoon or so of kefir or cream to each individual serving. If you prefer, you can leave the entire dish dairy free. Enjoy!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Dh’s original creation, do not replicate without our permission. Thank you. Recipe ID:  1346 Added:  December 31, 2008 Last Modified:  January 1, 2009

Last evening I went through with my plan to make delicious, crunchy and decadent Dal Vada, otherwise known as dal pakora or dal fritters. We first had this recipe in India at the house of some friends, and it’s a little bit of effort due to the necessity of pre-soaking the beans (dal) and of course the trouble of deep frying anything. It may be a good thing it does take effort, because it’s so good I might otherwise be tempted to make it all the time! However, deep fried food and rice alone doesn’t seem like a proper meal, even with tasty chutney. I had intended to make Madras-style spinach from my A Taste of Madras: A South Indian Cookbook. This is a cookbook I use very rarely, perhaps because it is non-veg. However, it does have a good selection of rice dishes (including pulao), a good dosa recipe, and many chutney recipes, so I have kept it around. At the last minute I decided not to make the spinach recipe because DH hates spinach and instead I made a recipe from the same cookbook for green beans. I modified the recipe to work for those with lactose intolerance or vegans (depending on the modification you use) and it was absolutely delicious but less heavy than my other favorite Indian green bean recipe. I hope you enjoy this recipe! See my favorite Indian cookbooks below.

Madras Style Green Bean Recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  Indian

Ingredients 1 small red onion 1/2 pound green beans 2 tsp. ghee or butter (low lactose) OR mustard oil OR coconut oil 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used rice milk) 2 tbsp. plain yogurt (soy or rice yogurt is ok if you like the flavor) 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder 1/4 tsp. turmeric salt to taste 1 tsp. ground coriander Directions Cut the red onion in half and remove the outer skin. Thinly slice the red onion. Cut your green onions into short, bite sized pieces- either in half or in thirds for very long beans. Heat 2 tsp of ghee, butter, mustard oil or coconut oil in a cast iron pan on medium. *Make sure your pan has a lid.* Add the cumin seeds and when they start to brown, add your milk. Whisk in yogurt and add spices through salt (reserving the coriander). Let your sauce simmer for five minutes and then throw in your onions and green beans. Sprinkle coriander on top. Add lid and simmer for five minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of hot water and stir ingredients to evenly distribute the liquid. Cover again and cook for 10+ minutes (or less if you have very thin beans). You can check on the beans periodically to see if they are done to your liking. If they get too dry and you are cooking them longer than ten minutes you may want to add another tablespoon of hot water and replace the lid. When done serve on rice or other grain of choice, preferably with a dal lentil dish or pakora.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Modified to be allergy/intolerance friendly from A Taste of Madras Recipe ID:  1299 Added:  October 7, 2008 Last Modified:  October 7, 2008