The Risotto Thread - Beer & Non Beer Related

[brettprevans]

Stout and Preserved Lemon Risotto huh? Might have a crack at that next time the old man gets some pidgeon or quails.

Now the recipe for your red wine, pork and fennel with porcini mushroom risotto! That tickles my fancy Merc.


My name is Brett and Im a risotto stirrer. As Cheryl Crow sang 'If it makes you happy, it cant be that bad'.

 

[Katherine]

LOL! My name is Katie and I agiate the pan! and a gentle stir now and then! I do it a fry pan so only make enough for 2 or entree for 4. I find I get a better result then stirring all the time.

I agree with Manticle seafood goes really well with the lemon risotto. I love really simple risotto with something on top!

My partner Lloydie is in love with making stocks and consume so I might get him on the case for a stock for the Blood Sausage, Aspargus and scallop risotto! Would a pork stock be to overpowering?

Love to see some photos soon!

 

[Mercs Own]

Basic Red Wine, Mushroom and spicy Italian Sausage Risotto


Butter
onion finely diced
300g Arborio Rice
Dried Porcini mushroom
6 cups chicken stock preferably home made!
6 Good quality spicy Italian sausage - pork and fennel are great
One cup of good red Wine - St Hallets Game Keepers Reserve is a good strong wine for this dish
1 cup of Peas
more butter
cup Grated parmesan cheese

To cook

Put chicken stock in pan and bring to a simmer
Take a handful of the dried porcini mushrooms place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak until you need them

Put butter in to pan - about 30g of butter or 1 1/2 - 2 tblsp over medium heat and melt
add onion cook slowly until soft and translucent
add rice and stir thoroughly until rice is coated and toasty
Take soaked mushrooms, squeeze the water out of them - keeping the liquid - chop finely and add to the rice along with a splash or two cup of the reserved mushroom liquid. Doing it in this order adds a lovely mushroomy quality to the rice
Add the cup of red wine - taste wine first of course!!!! stir the rice whilst wine cooks and the rice soaks it up. Once most of the wine has been absorbed by the rice add a ladle of chicken stock. For the next 20 - 30 mins you continue to stir rice whist adding a ladle or two of stock. If stock absorbs too fast turn the heat down, if it absorbs too slow turn the heat up. Relax have a glass of wine!

While stirring and adding to the rice get the sausages and take the skin off them. Put some good olive oil into a fry pan and when hot add the broken down sausage meat. Fry until cooked and broken apart - it should look like mince meat cooked - if it doesnt you bought cheap or low quality sausages. Turn off the heat.

When you guestimate that you have about 2 - 3 ladles of stock left add the sausage mixture. Mix thoroughly and heat through. It is at this point I put my frozen peas into the microwave and heat through. Add second last ladle of stock along with your nice hot peas and mix through. The rice should be almost done -al dente soft on the outside with a firmish bit3. Add the last ladle of stock turn off the heat. Add another 30g's of butter and a couple of tablespoons of fresh grated parmesan mix thoroughly, even though the heat is off it will continue to cook for a little longer.

Serve with a glass of red, if there is any left, I know you will enjoy!

 

[Pollux]

I'll have to ask the wife to write down her recipe, excellent chicken risotto.

She uses a whole bottle of wine, although I sense only one glass goes into the pan, the rest into the chef.

 

[brettprevans]

thanks Paul. Ive got a few bottles of St Hallets GKR in the cellar, so that seals the deal. I think I just decided on saturday night's dinner.

 

[manticle]

Re: stirring debate - The only debate I would ever have in a kitchen, besides "make it from fresh food, not convenience products" is does it work?

If it works for you then it's a valid method. My risottos are never starchy - it's the frying in oil that gets rid of that. I tend to do that with any rice I cook - jasmine, basmati, whatever.

 

[Mercs Own]

thanks Paul. Ive got a few bottles of St Hallets GKR in the cellar, so that seals the deal. I think I just decided on saturday night's dinner.

Let me know how it goes. Cheers!

 

[Katherine]

Next week I think I will get my act together and do this blood sausage risotto.

I'm going to do a simple asparagus risotto and then top the risotto with the seared scallops and blood sausage. mmmm I might use wine to deglaze!

 

[brettprevans]

remember the pics KT. in saying that i'll have to remember to take a pic of the wine,shroom,snag risotto tomorrow.

 

[Katherine]

for sure...

 

[Duff]

My wife said today that we are having risotto this week and were talking about receipes. Our base one this week will be along the lines of prawn, white wine, roasted garlic, bacon, pea sort of thing.

Prawn boat in town tomorrow and Sunday. Nothing like buying fresh off the trawler.....




















For $10 a kilo :beer:

 

[Katherine]

My wife said today that we are having risotto this week and were talking about receipes. Our base one this week will be along the lines of prawn, white wine, roasted garlic, bacon, pea sort of thing.

Prawn boat in town tomorrow and Sunday. Nothing like buying fresh off the trawler.....




















For $10 a kilo :beer:

I couldnt imagine how good it would be living in port douglas... My parents live in Yamba and always bragging about the Clarence River prawns!

 

[Duff]

Katie,

Trust me (although we've never met)

It is that good living here.

Simple.

Hopefully Paul can bring his show this way for a local seafood and beer episode.....

What better way than a session with the DAG's (Daintree All Grain)

Cheers.

 

[Mercs Own]

Katie,

Trust me (although we've never met)

It is that good living here.

Simple.

Hopefully Paul can bring his show this way for a local seafood and beer episode.....

What better way than a session with the DAG's (Daintree All Grain)

Cheers.

Now that is a good idea!

 

[Katherine]

Im surprised at how many places the show has not being yet... you missed out on so many good places in WA... Why didnt you go to MASH brewery??? Ive never being to Port Douglas but its on must list... It looks like a place I would like... Looks like theres plenty of good HB there also...

I love Mercurio Menu I hope it continues. Its just different to most foodie shows! It also shows you dont have to be a trained chef (Im not totally 100% that your not, Im taking a guess) to have a passion and be good at it! Like so many people on this board!

 

[bconnery]

Whenever I make risotto with beer I always add a bottle of beer (330ml) to the rice after it has been well coated and toasted and before I add the stock. This firmly plants the beer into the base of the risotto more so than if you did half beer/stock ie you mix half litre of beer with half litre of stock and bring that to a simmer then add that a ladle at a time to the rice. Actually as I have never done a half and half stock I dont know hoe it would affect the flavour so I am guessing but I am not inclined to try it as somehow it seems like you are diluting flavours??

let me know if any does this and how it turns out.

Would you be diluting, or just changing?
If you added half a litre of beer as well as your 330ml there you'd have less stock flavour but more of whatever beer you were using brought to the dish I'd have thought.

Certainly worth a try....

 

[Katherine]

Would you be diluting, or just changing?
If you added half a litre of beer as well as your 330ml there you'd have less stock flavour but more of whatever beer you were using brought to the dish I'd have thought.

Certainly worth a try....

I would prefer to do it with beer then wine.. not into that residue wine flavour in risotto!

 

[mt mellum]

Katie,

Trust me (although we've never met)

It is that good living here.

Simple.

Hopefully Paul can bring his show this way for a local seafood and beer episode.....

What better way than a session with the DAG's (Daintree All Grain)

Cheers.

+ one. love Port. and do the drive from Cairns during the day, makes the great ocean road look like a slum street. Duff is that mex restaurant still open at the top of the main st? (been a couple years) man, that's some good mex. and also Chillijam (?) for some of the best pizza. The only thing missing in PD is a great micro.