WHB: Lemon Risotto With Rosemary

Well, the last few days have been very hectic. My cousin Roxie, who lives in Texas, came to visit.  It's been fun, but it also meant little time to check my favorite blogs or write a post of my own. I kept wondering how  Kristi is doing over at Interrupted Wanderlust.  It's only 9 days until Beastie finally arrives!  And, it's Weekend Herb Blogging, the invention of the lovely Kalyn, and I can't miss that.  This week WHB is being hosted by Anthony at Anthony's Kitchen.  Several days ago I was short of time and made Nigella Lawson's great recipe for lemon risotto. You wouldn't think risotto would be a good thing to fix on a busy day, but this recipe is extremely simple and always works for me. I'm not sure why this dish comes together in about 20 minutes, while some other risottos can be troublesome. I remember one mushroom risotto that seemed to take hours, until I wanted to pitch the pot of it into the back yard.  I've heard other people talk about how easy this recipe is to make, so it isn't just me.

This recipe contains a a small but crucial amount of rosemary. Leave it out and I think the risotto's flavor would be diminished a great deal.  It's important not to use too much rosemary. It has a powerful taste and can overwhelm a dish. Start small--you can always add more.  I have two very large bushes of rosemary in my backyard, so it's there for me to use all year long. I'm always amazed at how tough rosemary plants are.  Mine can go weeks without any water in the hottest weather and it doesn't affect them in the least.  Because of it's resilience, rosemary is a favorite landscaping plant here in California.

Making risotto is pretty simple. You gradually ladle stock into the rice, stirring constantly.   In about 20 minutes the rice has absorbed enough stock and lost the chalky white center in the rice. It will be creamy, with a little bit of a bite--al dente.   At that moment you add a mixture of egg, parmesan and cream to the rice and stir.

A few more stirs and it's ready.  Nigella Lawson lables this a comfort food, and it certainly is. It tastes rich and creamy and is just right for when you're a bit frazzled. 

Make sure you head over to Anthony's Kitchen to check out the other Herb Bloggers at work!

Lemon Risotto (Nigella Lawson in Nigella Bites)

Ingredients:

*    2 shallots
*    1 rib of celery
*    1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter
*    1 Tablespoon olive oil
*    1-1/3 cup (300g) risotto rice, preferably arborio or Vialone Nano
*    Approximately 1 quart (1 liter)  vegetable stock
*    Zest and juice of 1/2 unwaxed lemon
*    Needles from 2 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
*    1 egg yolk
*    4 Tablespoons (60 ml) grated Parmesan, plus more to sprinkle
*    4 Tablespoons (60 ml) heavy cream
*    salt to taste
*    Grated pepper, preferably white

Note, have some hot water on hand in a kettle

Instructions:

Put the shallots and celery into a food processor and blitz until they are a finely chopped mush. Heat half the butter, the oil and the shallot and celery mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn't burn. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at simmering point.

Pour in a ladle full of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladle full and stir again, continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need to add hot water from the kettle.

Mix the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready - when the rice is no longer chalky but still has some bite - take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy lemony mixture, and the remaining butter and salt to taste. Serve with more grated Parmesan if you wish, check the seasoning and dive in.

Serves 2.

Comments

[coffeepot]

Sher thanks so much for an easy Risotto.

I will be trying it very soon.

Your pictures are great.

[steven]

Yum! I'm living on tomatoes and you're having risotto, no fair!

[Kalyn]

Looks yummy. I must confess I've never made risotto, but I used to order it in restaurants a lot in my pre-South Beach days.

[Kalyn]

Sher, by the way, going back to work is NEVER good. It's always a difficult transition. I'm not quite old enough to retire, but it's starting to beckon to me. Although I do have to say, I still love the kids and the job always gets more interesting when they start showing up.

[ann]

ha, i blogged about risotto too!
must be something in the air today!
man i love lemon risotto... the combo of tangy and creamy is so satisfying and comforting.

[s'kat]

Lemon and rosemary, such summery lively flavours! Is it bad that I'm already thinking about forming the leftovers into little balls, and frying them? ;)

[Jeff]

This is the second lemon risotto I read this morning..strange

[Julie]

That sounds pretty perfect. Is the vegetable stock crucial or would chicken stock work here?

[Karina]

LOVE lemon risotto! Thank you for reminding me!

[kross-eyed kitty]

Mnnnnn...that sounds VERY good! I am a huge fan of rosemary, although I might oftentimes be guilty of adding too much to a dish, because I like it so much.
Have a great weekend!

[Bonnie in Virginia]

Heather will be hosting WCB #62 at http://azurelynns.blogspot.com/ if you have a kitty photo to share. I look forward to seeing Upsie every weekend.

[Barbara (Biscuit Girl)]

How Funny, I just put up a post about risotto too. Great minds think alike!

[Glenna]

All of you beat me to the punch! I started backwards on my blog roll and and was going to say : Hey, how funny that you and Barbara both made risotto! Okay, well, I guess it's not a funny punchline by the time I got around to making it. People have often said about me that I'm a little slow...

You and Roxie have a fabulous weekend! Aren't you going to Tahoe today? (muttering) Witches. I'm so jealous. have a great time!

[kristi]

Nigella can do no wrong in my book. This looks yummy. Hope you had fun with your cousin. PS: 3 more days. :)

[Lisa]

Oh, that looks beautiful! It's a keeper. I also grow rosemary; it's so wonderful to have around.

[Christine]

Hey Sher,
Beautiful photo! I know my husband would love risotto so even though I couldn't eat much of it, cooking low carb and all, i'll make this for him as a special treat. Thanks for the recipe!

[sher]

Coffeepot,

Thanks!1 I hope you like it as much as I do--I bet you will.

Steven,

Well, your tomatoes just came in and I saw all those beautiful cans of tomatoes. I envy you. The arborio rice will always be around, but tomatoes are fleeting!

Kalyn,

I was just thinking about you the other day and I thought how you must be a great teacher. You do such a good job at everything and you're very supportive--so it may be a difficult thing when you do retire. But, I bet you will be very busy after you do!

Ann,

I know!! The stars have all aligned and they say, "Make risotto!" Yours looked great! (Biscuit Girl made it too!)

s'kat,

If only I had leftovers. The only bad thing about this recipe is that is makes a reasonable amount for 2 people. Next time I'll double it, to make rice fritters. YUM!

Jeff,

I know! It is quite interesting. It's three people who did it!

kross-eyed kitty,

Oh, I know all about using too much rosemary. I once ruined a big batch of grilled chicken by using too much!

Bonnie,

Thanks for letting me know!

Barbara (Biscuit Girl),

Well, this is too funny! It's a shame we didn't hold a risotto blogging event! :):)

Glenna,

Yes, just got back from Tahoe and I'm really tired. Had a great time, but I haven't been getting enough sleep--just out sightseeing and eating!

kristi,

Oh my God!! My countdown was off! Only 3 days! The anticipation of Beastie's birth is quite intense. Move over Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, there's a new kid due in town in 3 days. (I am amazed that time has gone by so quickly.)

Lisa,

It sure is wonderful. I love to come in the house with the smell on my clothes. Upsie loves it too.

Christine,

You're a very generous wife! You'll make it and not eat it! He's so lucky, he'll get to eat the whole pot! :):)

[gattina]

What a lovely risotto! Like to see you not hold back that butter, love it!

[sher]

Gattina,

Oh, I would never leave out the butter!!! :):)

Sher

[Tony of Bachelor cooking]

Thanks for the lovely post!! I am getting to learn a lot of new cuisines from blogging!

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