Sat, 29 Sep 2007 19:43:00
Pesto Risotto with Cajun Swordfish
This was just fantastic, and I had to share. My first ever risotto that wasn’t a boil-and-serve packaged mix. Forgive the crap photo, my old-as-the-hills Canon Powershot S230 makes all food look terrible:
Ingredients:
1 cup pesto (you can make it from scratch, but I didn’t)
1/2 cup milk
1 packet Knorr creamy pesto mix (I know, but it’s awesome, so to hell with you purists)
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
15-20 large leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
8-16 large shitake mushroom caps, diced
3 cups chicken stock (again, I used store-bought but you can substitute whatever you like)
2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
1/4 cup olive or canola oil
salt to taste
Add half the oil to the pan. Sautee the onions and garlic for a few minutes on low to medium heat until translucent. Add dry rice. Stir for two minutes. Add 1 (ONE) cup of the liquid. Add a pinch or two of salt. Stir until liquid is absorbed before adding any more. Add one cup at a time and wait for the liquid to be absorbed before adding more. Stir constantly. Add Shitake mushrooms after cup number two of liquid. Taste it, even though the rice will be crunchy. This is when you decide if it needs more salt. Tiny dashes, re-taste! Always taste it before you end up over-seasoning it!
Note: there is no time on this stage. You must stir constantly and add small amounts of liquid, allowing the risotto to absorb it before adding more. Depending on your stove, your pan and your technique this could take forever, or twenty minutes. Just do it slowly and do it right! It will pay off.
After the third cup of liquid is absorbed, taste it. Is it crunchy? Add 1/2 cups of liquid until the exact moment the rice is no longer crunchy, but is still firm. I needed a total of four cups of liquid.
Add the pesto. Stir a lot. Taste. Add salt if needed. Taste again. Taste often!
Meanwhile, take the remaining oil, the 1/2 cup of milk and the Knorr creamy pesto mix and mix it separately. Now, if you are dead set against the mix, just use an extra quarter cup of pesto sauce, the milk, the oil, and a couple teaspoons of corn starch or some other thickener. That should make a nice creamy pesto.
Add your creamy mix to the risotto. Stir until mostly absorbed and thick. Get it off the heat. Taste! Stir in chiffonaned fresh basil, and serve. You could top it with a bit of the basil, or some finely minced chives might be nice. Or nothing, because it’s so good.
Should serve four, maybe five. Three if everyone’s hungry.
As for the swordfish - buy it fresh, coat it with some version of a cajun rub and fry it, grill it or broil it. Just don’t overcook it!
Posted by JimK at 07:43 PM on September 29, 2007
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Comments:
#2 Posted by johnonship 
on 09/30 at 09:16 PM -
Note for photo: food photographs excellently in window light. Place the plate on a table by a window and shoot at a lower angle with no flash. Try it sometime and let me know if it helps.... Recipe looks great!
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