The risotto came out pretty good. It was neither hard as a brick nor was it soupy. My parents both liked it, and so did I. We decided to keep this recipe, but it needs some tweaking. My parents both thought the amount of asparagus should be reduced, and I was concerned that more salt may be necessary. Still, all three of us liked the risotto very much and would prepare it again, which is the true test of cooking success. As for the ease of cooking risotto, I know it was a lot easier for me than for other people because I was cooking only risotto, not a full dinner. I didn't feel it was too much for me to handle just the risotto, but I'm sure I would be overwhelmed if I were cooking anything else while trying to make risotto.
This week I decided to try my hand at asparagus risotto. A few years ago I went to a dinner gathering in which Chef Martin Corso (Chef Marty) prepared several dishes throughout the evening. One of the dishes Chef Marty made is asparagus risotto, and it was delicious! So I researched this week about how to cook risotto and investigated several different recipes. The recipe at the end of my post is the one I chose to prepare, and I got it from a coupon book for Ralph's supermarket. The risotto was fun to make, and not as challenging as I thought it would be. I have seen chefs on television shows, such as Fox's Hell's Kitchen, and so many experienced chefs screw up their risotto. I've seen these chefs make risotto that is hard like a brick or so runny it could be considered a stew. I wanted mine to be at least decent, so I made sure to look for proper techniques to cook risotto. At foodnetwork.com I found a wild mushroom and asparagus risotto recipe with a three minute video in which Chef Alton Brown demonstrates how he prepares it. One technique I noted is that when he pours in the liquid, he pours in just enough to cover the rice. Another technique that Brown uses is that he heats up the wine and chicken broth before he pours them into the rice. Most importantly, Brown states, "If you see anything turn brown, turn it down," meaning that if the rice is browning then you have to turn down the heat. I learned from Brown that I'm not supposed to brown the rice, but rather I want the rice to become translucent along the edges while it "sweats" with the butter and onion. One thing I did to make my job easier is I used Stella shredded parmesan cheese that I found in the refrigerated section of my local grocery store. I am curious how different would my risotto taste if I had shredded the parmesan myself, or if it would taste different at all. I don't know wines too well, and I needed some help choosing a dry white wine. My dad selected for me a 2005 Viognier from Ile La Forge.
The risotto came out pretty good. It was neither hard as a brick nor was it soupy. My parents both liked it, and so did I. We decided to keep this recipe, but it needs some tweaking. My parents both thought the amount of asparagus should be reduced, and I was concerned that more salt may be necessary. Still, all three of us liked the risotto very much and would prepare it again, which is the true test of cooking success. As for the ease of cooking risotto, I know it was a lot easier for me than for other people because I was cooking only risotto, not a full dinner. I didn't feel it was too much for me to handle just the risotto, but I'm sure I would be overwhelmed if I were cooking anything else while trying to make risotto.
4 Comments
3/22/2016 07:17:12 am
Hey Rob,
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3/25/2016 02:11:42 pm
Thanks Andrew! I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I decided to experiment and see how well I could do it on my first try. I was just happy that my risotto didn't turn out hard or soupy. Some other recipes call for garlic or lemon, and I bet those would taste really good too. Maybe one day I'll be able to cook this risotto while also preparing something to go with it, perhaps parmesan chicken.
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Michael Zora
3/23/2016 09:29:38 pm
Hey Rob,
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3/25/2016 02:17:47 pm
Thanks Michael! I remember Chef Marty saying that in cooking, butter is your friend. I don't think this dish is all that unhealthy. I know some people are totally against using butter, but I learned somewhere that a little bit of saturated fats can be a good thing. Plus, there is a full pound of asparagus. One thing I thought was interesting is that the salt gets added in at the end. Most of the time when cooking, one adds salt while mixing or early in the process of cooking. I wonder if the salt gets added in the end because it might affect how the rice absorbs the liquid.
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AuthorI graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a B.S. in Mathematics and now I am pursuing a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Mathematics. Archives
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