Daring Cooks March Challenge: Risotto

Truth be told I've had saffron in my spice rack for a while now. I bought it on a whim and haven't known what to do with it since. That's where Eleanor of Melbourne Food Geek and Jess of Jess the Baker came to my rescue with this Month's Daring Cooks challenge, Risotto. I knew the fate of that saffron right away. The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.


One of the requirements of this challenge was we had to make our own stock which I love to do. If you've never made your own stock I really encourage you to try. It tastes so much better than storebought and believe me it is quite simple and so worth it. Now, you won't want to tell anyone this little secret I've come to know about risotto but it is one of those dishes that everyone thinks is hard to make when in fact with a watchful eye and a lot of stirring is really quite easy to make. The revelation of this fact was exciting for me because risotto is utterly luxurious, rich and a very impressive dish to serve. Every time I make risotto I always ask myself why I don't make it more often so thanks Eleanor and Jess for the reminder!

Recipe:

Chicken Stock Recipe:

Risotto Recipe:
5 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced or 1 small onion, diced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
large pinch of saffron
1 1/2 cups parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, bring chicken stock to a simmer.
2. In another saucepan, melt the butter with the olive oil and saute shallots over low-med heat for about 10 minutes. Add rice to the shallots and stir, coating all of the grains with the oil, for 5 minutes.
3. Add the wine and saffron to the rice and stir until the liquid is absorbed.
4. Slowly add stock to the mixture one cup at a time until each cup is absorbed, stirring constantly until rice is tender but still slightly firm in the center and the mixture is creamy, about 18 minutes.
5. Add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Serve immediately.

Serves 6