Asparagus Crab Risotto

The cold winter air is finally settling in, which means it’s the perfect time to enjoy a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal. Soups, stews and chili always make for a great comfort food this time of year. But one of my favorite dishes to make during the winter months is risotto. Accented with anything from herbs and wine, to fish and vegetables, a creamy bowl of risotto is as much of a treat as it is a meal.

Grant it, making risotto successfully can be a bit intimidating to some. While you are only looking at about a half an hour or so of cooking, it’s non-stop dedication and focus that makes for the perfect consistency. Once you get past the constant ‘ladle/stir/ladle/stir’ rhythm, it’s well worth the effort.

This week I’m sharing with you two simple ingredients that will raise a standard risotto dish to a whole new, tasty level. By simply adding chopped asparagus and one can of lump crab meat,  you will have a risotto dish that you will not forget.

ASPARAGUS CRAB RISOTTO

Ingredients
1lb fresh asparagus
3 tbspn plus 1 tspn butter
1/2 cup shallots, chopped
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (Chardonnay works well)
3-1/2 cups broth or stock (your preference of chicken or vegetable)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 small can lump crabmeat
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Prepare Asparagus

In a large sauce pan, bring a quart of water to a boil. Remove about 1-inch off of the tough end of the asparagus spear.

Place the asparagus into the boiling water, blanche for 2-3 minutes.

Remove asparagus from water and immediately place into a bowl of ice water to shock it (meaning to immediately stop the cooking process, yet keeping the vibrant green color).

Remove asparagus from ice water, pat dry, cut into 1-inch pieces, set aside.

Step 2: Prepare Risotto
The object of preparing risotto is to create a creamy texture by ladling simmering broth/stock over the rice, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed, then repeating the ladling/stirring process until you run out of broth.

In a medium sauce pan, bring broth/stock to a simmer (not a boil).

In a large sauce pan, heat 3 tbspn butter over medium heat.

Add chopped shallots, cook until translucent, about 1 minute. Add rice, toss until well coated.

Add the wine, stirring to allow rice to get fully coated. Once wine is absorbed, start to ladle in the broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir the rice constantly to avoid sticking. Once broth is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of broth. Continue to add broth in 1/2 cup increments once absorbed, and continue to stir rice. This will take a total of about 15-20 minutes.

Once all the broth/stock is added and stirred, remove pot from heat. Add the remaining tspn of butter, grated parmesan cheese, chopped asparagus and lump crabmeat. Gently stir, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The Mamma Meets the Cucina: COOKING WITH SPIRITS!

So the holidays have come and gone and our liquor cabinets are pretty much cleaned out. But don’t write off those nearly empty bottles yet! With less than a cup of some of the most common spirits, you can have an awesome meal on the table with a huge wow factor. And the Mamma & the Cucina are battling again to show you just how to do it!

Be sure to let us know which spirit YOU prefer to cook with by using our voting poll below. MANGIA!!

FROM THE MAMMA

Sambuca is one of the liquors I remember from my childhood. After dinner my parents and grandparents would have a small glass over ice, or even put some in their coffee. I, personally, never liked the stuff, but I find that the naturally sweet flavor really enhances savory dishes for a sweet & salty effect! Sambuca is often used in cooking with prawns or lamb, but I went with shrimp. So myfood-blogging brain did a little talking with my Italian stomach and I invented the following recipe:

SAMBUCA SHRIMP

INGREDIENTS:
12 shrimp, trimmed & deveined
1 TB olive oil
4 TB butter
3 TB minced shallots
juice of one small lemon
1/4 cup Sambuca
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
Saute the shallots in 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter until transparent. (You want to sweat the shallots, meaning you cook them without any color or browning). Add in the shrimp and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and plenty of crushed red pepper. Cook for about 1 minute on each side. Remove the shrimp. Add the sambuca and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.

Then add the lemon juice and the remaining TB of butter and simmer lightly until you get kind of a thin glaze. Then, throw the shrimp back in and toss it all together. Turn the heat off (you do not want to overcook the shrimp,a s the heat alone will finish the cooking process). Serve immediately over rice pilaf, or alongside roasted veggies. I served mine with brown rice since we are trying to keep that New Year’s resolution of eating healthy!

FROM THE CUCINA

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies

Hot Pepper Salad

Like the star that led the Wise Men to the stable, it’s the hot pepper salad that leads my family to the table! Hot pepper salad, which is a staple Condo family recipe, has been served at many graduation, confirmation and communion parties, and at every major holiday dinner for as long as I could remember. However, Christmas Eve is the biggest meal that features the hot pepper salad. To this day, I still think back with a warm smile to when I was a child, helping my Grandparents mix up the salad, days before my family all gathered together to celebrate our biggest meal of the year – the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It was also for this meal that we would add one additional ingredient – anchovies (filette di alici) – which would then allow the salad to count as one of the Seven Fishes.

THE INGREDIENTS
Because we would serve the hot pepper salad at the  beginning of our holiday meals, I would classify it as an antipasto. The recipe is very simple, consisting of just six basic ingredients.
Equal parts of the following:
• cherry peppers, stems removed
• jumbo pitted black olives
• jumbo pitted green olives
• marinated artichoke hearts
• marinated eggplant
• marinated button mushrooms
Again, you can also add anchovies to the salad for extra taste and to count it as one of your Seven Fish dishes. Shrimp would also work very well!

You can adjust the amount of each ingredient to your liking. For example, if you’re not a big mushroom fan, but if you love black olives, double up on the olives! Or you could do what many in my family do…just pick out what you like, and trade up with someone else for their favorite ingredients. Whatever preference you have will work well here.

All of the above ingredients are available in most major supermarkets, jarred and marinated. You can also buy the fresh ingredients at any Italian specialty shop, if that is what you prefer.  One jar of each ingredient combined will make enough salad to serve 6-8.

THE PREPARATION
The preparation of this dish is very basic and easy. Simply drain and mix all ingredients in a bowl, maybe add a little Italian seasoning and red pepper flake for some extra flavor and heat if you prefer, stir and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to allow all of the flavors to marry together. Be sure to remove from the refrigerator at least an hour before serving. Stir well to mix up the oils (don’t worry if any of the oils solidified while chilled, it will all liquify when brought back to room temperature). You can add a quick drizzle of olive oil too, if needed.

TO CHOP OR NOT TO CHOP?
My family has served the pepper salad both chopped and whole, depending on the meal. For Christmas Eve we would keep the pieces whole, which allows it to work well as an antipasto. Rough chopping it allows it to work better as a topping, especially on sandwiches or pasta. If you have a food processor, you can give the mixture a few quick pulses. Be sure to keep the pulses quick and short, because the oils that are incorporated will cause the salad to become a pasty puree if chopped too fine.

Whichever method and ingredients you prefer,  I hope that you find this special dish to be as tasty and enjoyable as my family and I do for every holiday meal.

Buon Natale!