Text 24339, 138 rader
Skriven 2012-05-02 15:10:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av BURTON FORD
Ärende: GIHA 590
================
 ->  DS> I tried that SNAFU but I ended up FUBAR.
 ->  sd-> It was another SWIFT day for me.
 ->  BF> GIHA
 ->ml-> NTF.

 BF> And of course, I was always the only one to say in writing "What does
 BF> that acro mean?"   

Sean's example up there cried out for your candor. I took it
to mean "see what I f'ed up today," but I later found that
an acceptable meaning is "sure wish I finished training,"
which may amount to the same thing.

Strawberry Risotto
Cat: starter, starch
servings: 6

2 Tb butter
1 sm white onion cut in tiny cubes
1 c risotto rice
5 oz dry white wine
4 c broth
8 strawberries
100 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tb butter or heavy cream or mascarpone

You need risotto rice. Italian chefs are very particular
about which specific type of risotto rice they use for a
given recipe. But if you are starting out with Italian
cooking, just use any rice with 'risotto' on the box. Do not
use precooked or preseasoned risotto mixes. Do not wash
the rice - it needs to be dry when it goes into the pot. We
are not making pulao where you want each rice grain to be
free and not stick to the others. Risotto is about rice
grains sticking together and the little rice flour on the
grains' surface is a desirable feature.

You also need hot broth. Not cold water. Not cold water with
a broth cube. But a saucepan of piping hot broth. If you
don't have the time you can very well heat up 4c tap water
in a saucepan and add a broth cube. But it needs to be hot
before you start.

Just before serving, risotto is mixed with additional milk
fat - most commonly butter, but some people use heavy cream
or mascarpone. Then a little grated parmesan add a final
layer of flavor.

Wash and stem your strawberries, then crush half of them to
a pulp in a mortar. Reserve a handful of the best looking
strawberries for decor.

All risottos start with very finely diced white onion gently
fried in butter. Do not let the onions nor the butter turn
brown - you want medium-high heat, not high. You just need
your onion to be become soft and the water to evaporate.

Pour the dry rice into the frying onions and butter.

Fry it for 1-2 min. Every grain must be covered with a
little butter.

Pour in a glass of white wine. Some people use red wine but
that will raise an eyebrow and change the risotto's color.
Let the wine boil and reduce. Mix well so that no rice
sticks to the bottom.

Keep the stock pot next to the risotto pot and use a ladle.
Cooking with the proper tools is very pleasant and if you
can afford to browse the Internet, you can afford a ladle
too.

Pour two ladlefuls of stock into the rice.

Mix well to prevent the risotto from sticking and help the
stock to spread evenly across the rice.

Continue to mix over medium-high heat until the mixture is
almost dry. No liquid should be visible before you put the
next ladlefuls of broth in.

Turn constantly until the second ladlefuls have evaporated
too. Some of it will be absorbed by the rice which will
become softer and inflate more and more as the process
continues.

On the fourth ladlefuls of stock add the strawberry puree.
Mix well.

The strawberries will disappear; the risotto will turn
dirty pink. Continue to add the hot stock ladleful by
ladleful until the rice is cooked but still crunchy. Proper
risotto has some bite and the rice will continue to soften
for at least 5 min after you turn off the heat.

Now for the most crucial stage called mantecatura
[mantehkatuoorah] by Italian chefs. We mix tasty milk fat in
the risotto just before serving. Turn the heat off and take
the pot off the stove unless it is gas-powered. If you don't
do this, the heat will make your butter split. Let the
risotto rest for 1 minute off the stove and add the cold
butter cut into small pieces or the heavy cream or
mascarpone. Mix it in vigorously taking care not to crush
the grains. If you put a large piece of butter into a
boiling risotto, the part of the butter that touches the
rice will split into water and fat and you'll have an uneven
mix with patches of butter fat all over the dish. Butter,
cream and mascarpone are all water-fat emulsions which we
need to be assimilated into the dish as an emulsion.

Finally the grated Parmesan is added and mixed in.

You can serve with thinly-sliced strawberries on top or omit
them altogether. It is a hard decision to make. If you put
the strawberries on top, most guests will be surprised and
think this is some prank or that you are training to become
a chef in Hawaii. And if you don't use them, nobody will
guess unless you tell them what's inside. Will you resist
the temptation of telling? If you tell, you are back to
square one with the added aggravation that people now think
you tricked them and wonder what will come next - Olive
Squirrel or Rat Couscous perhaps? Really difficult.

I go for full disclosure with a little strawberry on top and
my impressive copy of the huge culinary tome Il Cuchiaio
d'argento in the original Italian edition left conspicuously
open as a shield against any suspicion of fanciness. It is
now available in English as The Silver Spoon on Amazon.com

The process is the same for any risotto recipe, with or
without strawberries. Replace the strawberries with saffron
and you'll have risotto alla milanese.

fxcuisine.com

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