Here’s another great dish we cooked at Blackfish for our cooking class. I was busy with my Molten Chocolate Cakes so I didn’t spend any time preparing it, but it was one of the best risottos I’ve ever tasted. Absolutely delicious. And yes, I know my photograph isn’t very good but I’m working at it.

Chef Jeff Power’s secret is to cook the corn separately from the rest of the dish and add it back to the risotto just as it finishs cooking. I’m not sure why but I’ll have to ask him.

A quick tip for removing the corn kernels is to cut each ear of corn in half so you have a flat, solid surface at the bottom to prevent the ear from slipping while cutting.

Although Arborio is the most popular rice for making risotto, it is not the only one. The top of the line Italian risotto rice and most difficult to find is Carnaroli. When I lived in Park City, Utah, my friend who owned a gourmet store turned me on to Fior di Riso, a superfino carnaroli. It has a super flavorful, large, plump grain that is incredible.

Corn Risotto
Serves 8

Ingredients

6 ears of fresh corn, peeled and kernels removed
2 cups of Arborio rice
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup of minced onion
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ pound butter
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup fresh herbs, chopped (this can be whatever is fresh and local at the time)

Cooking the Corn

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes and then add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Then add the corn kernels and season with salt and pepper. Sauté the corn for 2 to 3 minutes and then remove from heat and reserve for later.

Preparing the Risotto

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I want to introduce you to Chef Mark Vogel, culinary instructor, food writer and doctor of psychology.  He has contributed several food articles on my web site including So You Want To Be A Chef that I just recently posted.

Chef Vogel graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City and has been writing a syndicated food column “Food for Thought” for a number of periodicals and web sites. I’m hoping he may help me on occasion with my “Ask A Chef” feature answering your cooking questions more thoroughly.

Mark just told me about his new web site Food For Thought that contains all of his writings plus a bunch of Mark’s recipes. I encourage you to check it out when you have a free moment (and come back to The Reluctant Gourmet when you are finished of course).

And to really wet your appetite on what you will find at Chef Vogel’s new site, I’m posting his recipe for Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce. I think you will enjoy it. And don’t forget to read my Novice to Pro interview with Chef Vogel.

PASTA WITH BASIL-CREAM SAUCE
 
12 oz. pasta
Olive oil and/or butter as needed
Pinch of hot pepper flakes
1 small-medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup light cream
1 medium to large batch of basil, cut en chiffonade
 
While the pasta is cooking heat the oil and/or butter in a pan with the hot pepper. 

Add the onion, salt and pepper and cook until the onion softens. 

Add the garlic and cook one more minute. 

Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. 

Add the cream and barely return it to a gentle simmer.  Since it is light cream, over cooking can cause it to break.  Of course you could use heavy cream and dismiss that anxiety. 

Add the basil and additional salt and pepper if needed. 

Add the pasta, stir to incorporate it into the sauce and serve. 

I needed a quick meal the other night and I wanted to use up some left over roasted chicken from the night before. I was thinking risotto but I didn’t have any in the pantry but I did find a box of San Giorgio orzo and thought this might work.

What is Orzo?

Orzo is rice shaped pasta slightly smaller than a pine nut and is great in soups and pasta salads. See my seafood orzo salad recipe.

Find Recipes In All the Right Places

I love finding recipes and adapting them with ingredients I have on hand. Keep your eyes open and you can find interesting recipes everywhere; on product packages, the supermarket shelves, ads in magazines, newspaper articles, mail flyers. Most of these recipes are trying to sell you their products but they are still good starting points for creating your own recipe.

The orzo box was no exception. They had a recipe for Mediterranean Orzo Pilaf. Some of the ingredients were processed products like dried Italian seasoning, bouillon cubes, and garlic powder. It’s my opinion you can really change the quality of mediocre recipe just by using higher end products that really don’t cost you that much more money in the end.

For example, using homemade or quality chicken stock instead of bouillon can make all the difference in the world. Try using fresh garlic instead of garlic powder or fresh basil and parsley rather than dried Italian seasonings.

Dried herbs are great in some dishes, but with a pilaf recipe like this, why not go fresh if you can. If you don’t have fresh herbs in your refrigerator, by all means go with the dried ones but make sure they have not been sitting in the cabinet too long. I don’t date my dried spice bottles, but I should because I’m sure some of them have been around longer than my daughters. Chef Ricco forgive me.

I made the chicken stock the night before when we had roasted chicken. I’ll be honest.  I didn’t roast the chicken. It was a rotisserie chicken from our local market and a pretty good one at that. After I stripped the meat off, I stuck the carcass in a pot, covered it in water and made a quick stock in about an hour. Not classic chicken stock but good enough for what I wanted to use it for and a heck of a lot better than anything canned and lets not even talk about a bouillon cube.

You can make this dish one hundred different ways by substituting various ingredients. Don’t like chicken, add shrimp. Don’t like parsley, try cilantro.  Try different types of cheeses, olives, nuts; whatever works for you or you happen to have in your pantry.

Experiment and have some fun. There are some recipes you must follow a precise technique using specified ingredients. This is not one of them.

Quick Orzo Pilaf

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces uncooked Orzo
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 ½ cups chicken stock
12 or more grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cooked boneless chicken breast, meat shredded or cut into pieces
Salt & pepper, to taste
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

How to Make Orzo Pilaf at Home

Heat a large sauce pot or fry pan over medium high heat. Add the butter and melt. Add the onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the orzo and cook with the onions & garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently so the orzo doesn’t burn. If the pan seems too hot, turn down the heat to medium.

While this is going on, I like to heat up the chicken stock so I’m not adding cold stock to the hot pan with the orzo. No reason to slow down the cooking process by cooling down a hot pan.

Add the chicken stock to the pan and bring it to a boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes while the orzo absorbs the stock. Be sure to stir every so often.

Add the grape tomatoes, chicken and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and then cover and cook for a few more minutes until all the stock has been absorbed into the orzo. Be sure to stir so the orzo doesn’t stick to the pan.

I like stir in the grated Parmesan cheese at the end just before serving. You can add a sprig of fresh parsley to the plate to make it look nice. I always forget.