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Hello once again everyone^^ I feel like I'm getting better and better everyday as a beginner chef, thanks to the valuable support and advice I've gotten :D I've just got one dish today since I was busy with summer course work, but I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless!
Today's Dish: Tomato Risotto with Wild Creminis
That's right- I still haven't run out of mushrooms! (Only about halfway through the stock). Some of my friends will be coming over to taste my food soon, so I really need to have the techniques down perfectly, which is why I'm practicing the risotto!
Last time I used plain chicken broth and cheese, which went well and was simple enough to do. This time, I went for a more tangy route with tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Also plated it a bit differently (thanks guys, you know who you are). Unfortunately, I don't have a cheese block or a grater, so I couldn't add the final garnish touches the way I would have liked to :< The dish came out well still, although I may have added just a bit too much broth this time, which took it a bit longer to cook and the rice was just on the edge of the al dente needed- will definitely make adjustments next time!
I'm kind of stuck as to what dish I should try next...kinda leaning towards a pasta arrabbiata, carbonara, pesto, or alfredo. Any suggestions or thoughts?
Anyways, pics!
![[image loading]](http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab171/_fOrQQ/P1000036.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab171/_fOrQQ/P1000037.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab171/_fOrQQ/P1000038.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab171/_fOrQQ/P1000039.jpg)
As always, enjoy!
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omg i <3 food blogs. Do you have photos of you preparing the dish? I always find the making of the dish process cool. :D
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You donkey!
I mean, this looks delish!
Like AoN.DimSum says, pictures of you prepping the food are very fun to look at, but I guess its kinda annoying trying to prepare a dish and take fancy smancy pictures at the same time! 
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Thank you for making this interesting blog. Food pictures are always a delight to see!
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It's hard to find time to do anything that isn't making risotto while making risotto ._.
it looks maybe a little loose/soupy? but i can't tell since i haven't eaten it, obviously (though i gladly would, which is probably the best compliment a cook can receive, imo). Looks nice :3
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Looks really good. you're such a good cook!
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On July 08 2010 09:46 AoN.DimSum wrote:
omg i <3 food blogs. Do you have photos of you preparing the dish? I always find the making of the dish process cool. :D
Like Issorlol said, its kinda hard to take photos during the risotto process since I have to constantly keep stirring it :D Also since I'm a newb chef it takes all my attention just to cook it lol >< Once I get better I'll try to post play-by-play photos.
On July 08 2010 10:16 Issorlol wrote:
It's hard to find time to do anything that isn't making risotto while making risotto ._.
it looks maybe a little loose/soupy? but i can't tell since i haven't eaten it, obviously (though i gladly would, which is probably the best compliment a cook can receive, imo). Looks nice :3
Yes, I mentioned that I added abit too much broth in (3.5 ladles instead of 3). The tomato puree also added a liquid base so it turned out a bit more loose than I liked. Sadly I had to stop cooking it before it reduced fully, or else I would lose the al dente feel =/
Thanks very much for the compliment though~
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I'm not sure why I'm posting this. To me this looks like shit literally. It's the texture :r
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fOrQQ, if you keep posting these I am going to hunt you down, kidnap you and make you cook food for me.
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Pesto on oven-toasted garlic bread... Delicious.
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I've been starting to cook some very basic Italian dishes lately and risotto is something that I've been failing at lately, haha. An early blog post with a risotto looked really amazing. I'm going to try to make mine look like that one. I'll use it as a visual aid.
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That's a soup. I'm sure if you used half the liquid, you would have a better risotto. Instead of going by number of ladles, add liquid little at a time where it's not completely dry but wet, not flooded as you have done. By adding liquid little at a time, rice can absorb liquid much better than flooding it. I'm sure you know to keep stirring but the reason behind that is to pull the starches out. Have you ever made mac n cheese? The texture should be somewhat similar. It should be able to hold it's shape if you mound the risotto in the middle. If I get a order for risotto and give that to my chef, he will send it back. Here's a random picture of what I'm talking about.
![[image loading]](http://www.bigbiteslittlebites.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/risotto.jpg)
tips:
- risotto is done when the rice is about 90 % cooked through. Meaning if you took a grain of ur rice and squeezed it between your fingers, you will smash most of it but the middle will have about 3 tiny tiny white dots.
- add hot (adding cold liquid brings down the temp of your rice which will make it take much longer to finish) liquid in small amounts (ie. 1oz or 2 oz ladle). Keep the rice wet, not flooded. The rice should not be sticking to the pan, so put enough liquid to prevent that but no more.
- a pro risotto takes about 18 minutes from start to finish.
- as you have noticed, ur puree may be more watery than you intended so account for that when adding that last bit of liquid.
- invest in a microplane, it's about 10-12 bucks. you can grate parm and zest other things too. You can also puree a tomato with it since u don't have a blender.
- u should not need to add water to ur tomato puree if u did.
- remember grated parm will help to thicken your risotto.
- a squeeze of lemon juice (1 Tbspn/portion) will brighten up most risottos.
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I use white wine in my risottos. Try it sometime!
- The guy above me is right there is too much stock in the risotto.
- The point about adding hot/cold liquid is so you don't "shock" the rice grains, but the stock shouldn't be hot as well maybe medium-heated stock.
- You want the rice to absorb the stock and whatever ingredients you've added, while carefully monitoring the texture of the rice for 'al-dente' and preventing it from sticking/burning the rice.
- The rice in your picture looks overdone somewhat resembles a porridge (the starch of the rice was heated too long and mixed with the stock) make sure next time it doesn't have that kind of texture.
Nice dish and I like how you used mushrooms. GL
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EPT
