Lemon Risotto and Grilled Coho

Laura Domela — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 17:29:48 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We made this last night and it was SO good, I thought I'd share.

I found this risotto recipe from the NY Times in my inbox yesterday morning, and remembered I'd brought from home the last of a bag of arborio rice in case I wanted to make some risotto while we were cruising. Well turns out after seeing this recipe I DID want to make some risotto! I modified the recipe a bit (of course, because that's what I do). I'll post it how I modified it below next to the original:

LEMON RISOTTO WITH ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:

7 to 8 cups well seasoned chicken or vegetable stock, as needed (I used 2c clam broth and the rest seafood stock)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion (I used shallots, because I prefer them over onions)

Salt to taste

1 pound summer squash (mixed varieties), diced (I used zucchini, because that's what I had)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 to 2 garlic cloves (2)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc (I used Prosecco…it's what I had)

2 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest

1 to 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (didn't have parsley, so added a little Italian seasoning)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Put your stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over low heat with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that the stock or broth is well seasoned.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion (shallot). Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the squash and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until the squash is translucent but not too soft, about five minutes. Stir in the rice and the garlic, and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add the wine, and stir until it has been absorbed. Turn the heat back down to medium, and begin adding the simmering stock a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion, stirring in more stock when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often.

When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, in about 25 minutes, it is done. Taste now and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and Parmesan. Remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

The risotto came out just right! It spread nicely into a thin layer covering the bottom of the plate, and we topped it with a piece of fresh Alaskan Coho (seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, a little garlic, and a few red chili flakes and then grilled expertly by Kevin on the pain-in-the-ass grill that only has two settings, cold and a thousand degrees), and served with the rest of the Prosecco.

Maybe that grill needs to go on the "Fix-It" list, but I think it belongs on the "Replace-It" list, personally.

Summertime is Gazpacho Time

Laura Domela — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 17:52:10 +0000

I'm a huge fan of gazpacho. It's fresh, healthy, fairly simple to make, and the creative possibilites are endless. Last night I made a standard spicy tomato gazpacho and garnished it with some of our friend Amelia's homemade spicy corn relish, a couple thin slices of Spanish chorizo, and a swirl of really good olive oil.

Served along with this nice cool soup: grilled local zucchini (olive oil, salt & pepper) and smoked prawns that had been marinated in lime juice and chopped jalapenos. We opened a bottle of Cass Vineyards Viognier to go with the meal, and it was a perfect summer dinner.

I'm not too good at the whole "keeping track as I experiment thing", but here's the basic recipe, sort of.

5 or so large (good) tomatoes. I used local Oregon Star Tomatoes because they're in season, but I also use the big heirlooms too sometimes.
1 jalapeno, seeded
2-3 cloves garlic
one red bell pepper
1/2 a large shallot, diced
half of a cucumber (if English, with peel…otherwise, peeled)
good olive oil (1/4 to 1/2 cup or so)
Vinagre de Jerez (Spanish sherry vinegar)

I cut the vegetables all into large chunks (tomatoes, pepper, cucumber) and tossed them into my Vitamix along with the seeded jalapeno, garlic cloves, shallot, and some olive oil. Blend together. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Lastly, I added the sherry vinegar to taste. Seems like a splash is good, but you don't want overdo it…I just add a little, then blend, then taste, repeat, until I can taste a little of that vinegar tang I'm looking for.

Garnish with whatever you feel like. Today for lunch I'm going to garnish with fresh Dungeness crab leg meat, some of Amelia's spicy corn relish, and a little slice or two of chorizo. Top with a swirl of good olive oil.

Here's today's lunch with my mom:

recipes – Riveted

Lemon Risotto and Grilled Coho

Summertime is Gazpacho Time