Creamy Cheesy Orzo With Swiss Chard

It can be baked in the oven or stirred to creamy perfection on the stove. It can be made into a hearty, cheese topped gratin or infused with different kinds of wine, even sparking Saumur. It can even be made with pasta.
Or can it?
I'm talking about risotto.

I have to ask...is it really risotto if it isn't made with rice?
As you know, I have issues with slow cooked vegetarian bean dishes being called Cassoulet and am really perplexed by vegan, dairy-free food products being referred to as cheese.
So what is risotto exactly? Is it the ingredients, i.e. the arborio rice, or the cooking method that makes it risotto?
Any thoughts?

To be honest though, after tasting this rich, cheesy pasta dish, I could care less! Call it risotto, call it pasta by absorption method, call it what you will.
I call it simply delicious.


A note on the cheese. Fontina is impossible to find where we live so I have replaced it with Raclette, a French (or Swiss) cheese from the Alps that is used to make a cold weather, stick-to-your-ribs dish of the same name. The cheese has a fruity and slightly smoky flavor that I love.


Cheesy Orzo "Risotto" with Swiss Chard
Serves 4

• 2 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock or canned low-sodium broth
• 2 ½ cups water
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 ¾ cups orzo (¾ pound)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 pound red Swiss chard, stems trimmed and finely chopped, leaves coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• 5 ounces imported Fontina (or Raclette) cheese, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Bring the chicken stock and water to a simmer in a saucepan; keep warm over low heat. Melt the butter in a medium nonstick saucepan. Add the orzo to the butter and cook over moderately high heat, stirring often, until the orzo is golden, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup of the hot stock mixture and cook, stirring gently, until all of the stock is absorbed. Gradually add more of the stock mixture, 1 cup at a time, and cook, stirring frequently, until the orzo is al dente and creamy but not soupy, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the shallot and Swiss chard stems and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the stems are tender and lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add the chard leaves and cook over moderately high heat, tossing, until the leaves are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar. Stir the chard and the Fontina and Parmesan cheeses into the risotto, season with salt and pepper and serve.

The recipe was slightly adapted from this one from Food and Wine magazine. Pin It

Zucchini and Ham Risotto Gratin

The shiny, sunny days of spring have been quite the capricious flirt this year.

A day of sun here, four days of rain there. A half a day of sun here, two days of rain there. With the exception of one little day, the last week has been downright dreary and I heard that it has been nicer in Copenhagen than in the south of France! To whom do I send my customer complaint card?

Ok, ok, enough moaning about the weather. On to the food!

These dark and drizzly days call for a bit of spring comfort food.
This risotto is topped with thick slices of golden, melted Brie that ooze down into the rice as they heat up, making a wonderfully rich and creamy dish. Just the thing to satisfy us as we huddle next to the heater and wait for some sun. We hope we won't be waiting for much longer.

photos of risotto never seem to do it justice


Zucchini, Ham and Brie Risotto Gratin
serves 4
Inspired by this recipe.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
  
• 2-3 slices thick ham, chopped into small squares
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 3½ cups hot vegetable or chicken stock
• 6 ounces Brie*
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the zucchini and sautée for 10-12 minutes until it just starts to turn golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add the remaining oil to the pan, lower the heat and add the ham, onion and garlic.
4. Cook on low heat for about 6-8 minutes or until softened and lightly golden.
5. Add the rice and stir the grains for about 2 minutes.
6. Pour in the wine and stir until it is absorbed into the rice, then pour in about one third of the hot stock and increase the heat to medium.
7. Cook, stirring frequently, until the stock is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining stock, in two batches. This should take about 20 minutes, and the rice should be tender.
8. Preheat the broiler.
9. Remove the rice from the heat, gently fold in the zucchini and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
10. Put the mixture into a big, earthenware gratin dish.
11. Slice the Brie and lay it on top of the rice.
12. Put the dish under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the Brie is golden and bubbling.
13. Serve at once.

*Don't go all out and spend a lot of money on unpasteurized Brie de Melun or Brie de Meaux for this dish. The cheese's flavor really mellows during cooking.


Another delicious springtime dish is this Baked Asparagus Risotto recipe that I perfected last year.

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Baked Asparagus Risotto - No Stirring!

Risotto is one of those dishes that I find particularly easy. I've made it so many times that it's kind of like second nature. And I love its versatility.
There is always some sort of vegetable or leftover meat lurking in the back of the fridge or freezer that I can mix with pearly, fat grains of arborio rice, hot stock and Parmesan to make a hearty meal.

The one thing about risotto is that you have to stand there and stir. And stir.
For about 30 minutes.
Sometimes this can be tedious. Especially when there are more interesting things to do. Like laugh at celebrities on gofugyourself.com read up on world events or study French.

So to give myself more time to be studious and worldly, I have a baked risotto recipe that cuts the amount of time in front of the stove by about two thirds.

The texture is a bit different that stovetop risotto. The grains are softer, not as al dente, but the flavor is wonderful!

Baked Asparagus Risotto

• 8 ounces/250g thick, smoky bacon, chopped into small pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons/25g butter plus 1 tablespoon/12g
• 10 ounces/300g risotto rice
• 8 ounces/ 250g fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup/125ml of white wine (optional)
• 3 cups/700ml hot chicken stock
• pinch salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup/50g Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oven to 200C/400F
Fry the bacon pieces in an ovenproof pan or casserole dish with a lid for 3-5 minutes until crisp.
Stir in the onion and 2 tablespoons/25g butter and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft.
Add the rice and stir for a minute or two, until all the grains are coated.
Pour in the optional white wine and cook for 2 minutes, until absorbed.
Add the hot stock, the salt and the asparagus pieces, then give it all a quick stir.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and bake for 20-30 minutes, until just cooked.
Stir in half of the Parmesan and remaining butter.
Serve, sprinkled with the remainder of the cheese and pass the pepper mill.

Serves 4


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Saumur Spring

Spring, beautiful spring.
The almond trees are in bloom, the vines are waking up and strawberries and asparagus are in season.



Asparagus Risotto time. I look forward to this every year.
I picked up a fat bunch of asparagus and a basket of deep, red strawberries at the market on Tuesday morning. The cupboards were pretty bare when I returned from the States, so I had to make do with what I could find.
Asparagus risotto usually calls for white wine but I didn't have any. I did, however, have Saumur, a sparkling white wine from the Loire Valley. A quick look in the Internet and voilà, a recipe for Champagne and Asparagus Risotto.



This is my adapted version. I didn't even have cheese for the recipe! Fortunately, the flavor was great without it.

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
  
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
  
• 2 cups Champagne
• 1 lb medium sized asparagus, trimmed
  
• black pepper, freshly ground
• salt
• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs Pecorino-Romano cheese, freshly grated

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until the onion is translucent.
3. While onion is cooking, blanch asparagus for 2-3 minutes, plunge into ice water and cut into 1 inch pieces.
   
4. Add rice, stirring to coat all the grains. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes.
5. Add 1 cup stock. Cook, stirring, until stock is absorbed.
6. Add 1 cup Champagne or Saumur. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.
7. When almost absorbed, add the rest of the Champagne.
8. After the Champagne is absorbed, add 1/2 cup of the stock. Cook, stirring, until the liquid is almost absorbed.
9. Add the rest of the stock in small amounts until rice is tender, about 30 to 40 minutes from when you put in the first cup of stock. I always find that the liquid to rice ratio is relative to the quality of the rice. You may need more than 4 cups liquid, you may need less.
10. Just before the last of the stock is added, add the asparagus to the rice.
    
11. Stir in freshly ground pepper, to taste.
12. Add the butter and cheese.
13. Stir well, taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
14. Enjoy!
    

The risotto had a really lovely, balanced flavor from the sparkling wine. It was creamy and delicious! I plan to do more experimenting with replacing regular white wine with the fizzy stuff in recipes.

For dessert: strawberries and the rest of the Saumur.

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