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Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Risotto


Risotto is a pretty common occurrence in my world. Most of the risottos I've made (you can check them out with that nifty risotto tag) can easily be served as main dish with maybe some salad greens, but this one is decidedly light enough to be a side. Don't get the wrong impression though, as the goat cheese does add some well-deserved tart-but-creaminess. Some grilled chicken or fish would compliment the brightness of this dish beautifully. Remember to use vegetable stock if you are making this to be a vegetarian dish!

Risotto, like most things in life, is super intimidating until you make it for yourself and realize it's a (delicious) glorified rice porridge with cheese. If you can stand in front of a stove and stir, you can make risotto. (And even then, it's not always necessary. I've read about pressure cooker or oven risotto methods, but have yet to try them myself.) It's a relatively painless way to impress dinner guests with your cooking skills, plus you can tailor a risotto for virtually every occasion. You can find risotto in the rice or ethnic food aisle - look for a package marked "risotto rice" or "Italian style rice."


Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Risotto
Author: Amanda
Difficulty: moderate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
  • 1 cup dry risotto rice
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced small
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 2-4 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup soft unripened goat's cheese, divided
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • cilantro or parsley to garnish (optional)

Directions
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and saute 4-5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add diced and deseeded bell pepper and continue to saute for a few minutes. Add dry risotto rice and white wine. Stir frequently, and add chicken stock in 1/3-1/2 cup increments as liquid is absorbed. Continue to stir the risotto thoroughly until cooked to desired doneness, approximately 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat, and break off approximately 2/3 cup of goat cheese into smaller pieces. Add these to the risotto and stir well to melt and combine. Garnish with remaining goat cheese and parsley or cilantro as desired.

Step-by-Step Photos


Melt some butter in your favourite risotto appropriate saucepan. Saute the onion and garlic until translucent.


After a few minutes, add the diced bell pepper and continue to saute until the bell pepper has barely started to soften.


Add the dry risotto rice, and give it a stir to start soaking up the butter and vegetable juices if you remember before adding the white wine. Stir frequently until the majority of the wine is absorbed.


Add the hot chicken or vegetable stock in increments while stirring the risotto frequently to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. This is the worst part of making risotto because patience is a virtue. If you rush this, you risk having a runnier sauce that could make the risotto soupy. Take your time, and sample it every once and again to test for doneness.


Continue to cook the risotto until desired doneness and the sauce is thick and not-soupy. When it's finished, turn off the heat.


Add approximately 2/3 cup of soft, unripened goat's cheese. Smaller pieces will help ensure it melts and is evenly distributed.


Stir just enough to combine.


Serve garnished with remaining goat cheese and some roughly chopped cilantro (my choice!) or parsley.

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