Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Saffron Risotto with Prawns
O sole mio...! I'm getting myself back in the happy summer spirit and thought a bit of Italian-ness would help. In fact, I find it shocking just how big the differences are between my (German) team at work and the It
alians who sit next to us. Our corner is relatively quiet (boring, they say) while their area is always full of life with people chatting, laughing and singing (annoying, some of my colleagues say). And although I am part German and I do my fair bit of bitching, I must admit I prefer the Italian lifestyle. It's good not to take anything too seriously (definitely something I have to learn) and to just live your life to the full rather than constantly worrying about tomorrow (fortunately, not I problem I have, if you believe my parents I should worry a lot more). And it's definitely good to deal with food as many Italians do: Take something quite ordinary and turn it into a yummy meal.I wasn't even going to cook Italian food tonight, but such thoughts of culture, identity and happiness tend to inspire me in strange ways. It's a bit like a song you hear subconsciously on your way to work and then can't stop whistling it the rest of the day. So, somehow, after a conversation about coffee and croissants with one of my Italian colleagues, my mind was stuck on an Italian theme that was to stay with me for the rest of the day. I had initially planned on cooking Asian food for dinner. Liston's had had beautiful fresh prawns on special on Saturday that were supposed to form the basis of a big stir-fry. But now this seemed like the wrong thing to do with them - don't ask me why I thought cooking Asian prawns in an Asian dish was wrong; it is very much like walking down the street whistling a Britney Spears track you heard earlier, I had it in my had and there was no convincing me that I might be making a fool of myself.
And while I am now ready to admit that I might have been wrong in my initial claim, I am happy to say that the result of my misguided pigheadedness, a saffron risotto with asparagus, cauliflower and prawns was nothing like a Britney Spears song. It was actually quite enjoyable. I made mine slightly differently - I replaced the prawns and cauliflower with buttered fennel and oysters - but the result was no less satisfying and unlike my image of Lofty's oyster free version above, it was actually documented in a way where you can make out what it is supposed to be. I will try to give you the recipe for both dishes below. Bear with me if it appears confusing.
4 tbsp butterAnd just in case you are just as confused as me now, simply make a portion of my simple creamy risotto (really, the only difference is that you add all the liquid at once and cook the rice with the lid on rather than adding it slowly and cooking it with the lid off, which results in a stronger flavour because you use more stock and makes the result easier to control), add a little bit of saffron about 2 minutes before you're done and top with the grilled stuff of your choice. Hmm... I suppose I could have just said that from the beginning. I guess my slightly pretentious Italian notion of Britney Spears tracks has had some form of after-effect. Sorry.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, 1 finely chopped, 1 sliced
1 cup risotto rice (or paella rice or, if you have nothing else at hand, pudding rice)
½ glass white wine
about 1 litre mild fish stock, kept hot
a pinch of saffron strands
a few green asparagus spears
200g peeled prawns (I used cooked ones, but obviously fresh prawns are better)
a few cauliflower florets
¼ fennel, sliced
4 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 ball of mozzarella, torn into rough chunks
2 fresh oysters, shucked
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add the shallots and fry until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and fry for another minute before adding the rice. Stir to coat with the oil and toast the grains thoroughly without browning. After about 3 minutes, add the wine, bring to the boil and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add the first 3 ladles of hot stock and stir it through. Continue to add the stock and stir it in whenever the mixture begins to thicken up. Add the saffron with your last ladle of stock (after about 15 to 18 minutes).
After about 12 minutes, which is 8 minutes from the end of the cooking time, bring a large saucepan full of water to the boil. Add a pinch of salt and the asparagus spears, and to cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Also add the cauliflower and blanch for about 2 minutes. Refresh in cold water and drain well.
At the same time, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a shallow frying pan over medium heat, and heat the olive oil in another pan, also over medium heat. When the butter is bubbling, add the fennel and fry until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. When the oil in the other pan is hot, add the sliced garlic and fry for a minute until fragrant. Then add the prawns and cauliflower and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
When the risotto is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and mozzarella. Cover and rest for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with the asparagus and prawns/cauliflower or fennel/oysters.
Christine at 10:36 pm
