The Daring Cooks Risotto Challenge

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker.  They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

With this challenge, we were required to make out own stock and our own risotto base.

I have made risottos many times over and wanted to challenge myself.  My risotto is a take on the Southern favourite – sweet potatoes.  They are served as a side dish at almost any meal but are a special favourite for Thanksgiving.

I am serving my sweet potato risotto with rack of lamb flavoured with a persillade.  A persillade is a flavouring made with chopped parsley and garlic.  I added lemon zest and panko and olive oil to bind it all together.  I like the panko rather than regular breadcrumbs because it seems to be crispier.

Arancini is another dish made from leftover risotto.  Balls of  cold risotto are dipped in beaten egg and then rolled in breadcrumbs.  They are fried or deep-fried usually, but one could bake them in the oven.  The panko does not absorb much oil so this is my preferred preparation method.

My arancini are a take on the Indian dessert, gulab jaman.  Gulab jaman are sweet balls that are deep fried and served with a sugar syrup.  My syrup for the arancini is made from the sugar syrup that was left after making candied ginger.  I thinned it out with a little water.

Just one little brag...OMG were these arancini delicious!  I would make the sweet potato risotto just so I could make the sweet arancini.  I cooked up all the little balls and put them in the freezer so I could enjoy every last one.  They will be like fresh made if I put them on a baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes.

Rack of  Lamb with Sweet Potato Risotto

For the risotto:

1 c sweet potato, cubed

1 c Arborio rice

½  c mascarpone

¼ c chopped pecans

8 whole pecans

4 T white sugar

¼ c sorghum

¼ c butter

2 t freshly grated ginger

2 c  ginger broth

½ c sugar

Peel and dice the sweet potato into ½ ” cubes.  Steam until just tender.  Melt 1 T butter and add 2T sorghum and 1 T grated fresh ginger.  Toss in the sweet potato cubes.  Saute until just turning brown.   Set aside half of the cooked, cubed sweet potato.  Mash the other half, and set aside for later.

Candy 8 pecan halves as described in note below.

Meanwhile, melt 2 T butter in a saucepan.  Add chopped pecans and 1 T grated fresh ginger.  Saute until the nuts are toasted.  Add 2 T sorghum.  Add the Arborio rice.  Saute for about 2 minutes.

Add ½ c ginger broth.  As the broth is absorbed, add broth a couple of tablespoons at a time until the rice is tender but still toothy.  When the rice is cooked to the right texture, stir in the mascarpone cheese and mashed sweet potato.

Toss with the candied sweet potato and serve.  Garnish with garnished candied pecan halves and strips of candied ginger.

Note:  To make the ginger broth slice 6 tablespoons of fresh ginger and simmer in 3 cups of water for ½ hour.  To candy the pecan halves, melt the sugar in a sauce pan.  When the sugar has melted, add the pecans.  Continue to cook until lightly browned.  Turn onto parchment paper to cool.

For the rack of lamb:

Make a persillade by combining the following in a small bowl:

½ c finely chopped parsley

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 t lemon zest

¼ c olive oil

1 c dry bread crumbs

Quickly sear two racks of lamb, meat side down, in an ovenproof pan.  When browned, turn over.  Press the persillade onto the meaty portion of both racks.  Put in 450F oven for 15 minutes, for medium.  Remove from oven and tent with tin foil.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

To put it together:

Place a mound of risotto on each plate.  Slice the racks of lamb and place 3 or 4 ribs on each plate.  Garnish with candied pecans and fresh parsley.  Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Arancini with Ginger Syrup

Chilled sweet potato risotto

3 egg whites

1 c panko

½ t dried ginger

¼ c white sugar

pinch of salt

Ginger Syrup and Candied Ginger:

Thinly slice 1 c fresh ginger.  Gently boil until tender, about 30 minutes.  Add 1 c white sugar.  Continue to boil until the ginger is translucent.  Cool.  Remove the ginger and reserve the syrup.

To make the arancini:

Season the panko bread crumbs with the dried ginger, sugar and salt.  Lightly whip the egg whites. 

Form the chilled risotto into 2” balls and chill for 30 minutes.  Dip each ball into the egg white and roll in bread crumbs.

Fry in 350F oil on all sides until browned.  If you do not have a thermometer, test the oil with a 1” square of bread.  If it browns in 30 seconds, the oil is ready.  Serve in a bowl with the ginger syrup.  Garnish with candied ginger.

Oeufs à la Neige

This was a favourite dessert in both France and North America alike until recently.  I have never made this but years ago was served this dessert at a friend's house.  I didn't fully appreciate the effort until making it now.  It is like eating clouds!  I really enjoyed it.

Oeufs à la Neige             from The Joy of Cooking

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 t vanilla

¼ t cream of tartar

¼ t salt

2/3 c sugar, preferably superfine

Beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy.  Then add the vanilla, cream of tartar and salt.  Continue to beat until soft peaks are formed.  Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat on high speed until the peaks are thick and glossy.

Line a baking sheet with a thin tea towel or two layers of paper towels.  Pour 2” of water into a large skillet and heat to 180F (or until tiny bubbles form along the bottom of the pan).  Adjust the heat to maintain this temperature.  It must not simmer.

Using a 3 to 4 ounce ice cream scoop or a 1/3 to ½ cup measuring cup, scoop up a slightly heaping mound of meringue.  Round the top of the mound with your fingertips to form an egg shape.

Drop the meringue into the skillet.  If you are using a cup scrape the egg out with a rubber spatula.  Preparing 5 to 8 meringues at a time (or as many as will fit in the skillet), poach the meringues for 2 minutes on each side, turning once with a slotted spoon.

When done they should feel firm and bouncy all around.  If soft spots remain, flip the meringues onto their undercooked sides and poach a bit longer.  Remove the meringues from the skillet with the slotted spoon, briefly hold them aloft to drain, and set each one on the lined baking sheet.  Poach all the meringues in the same manner.

Prepare a custard sauce and pour it into a wide, deep glass dish or bowl, then float the meringues on the custard.  For a classic oeufs à la neige, prepare caramel glaze.  Cool it slightly before drizzling the hot caramel over the dessert by spoonfuls, waving the spoon to create a delicate filigree of threads. 

Serve at once or refrigerate up to 12 hours.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Bite Me Kitchen had this on her blog awhile ago and I have always wanted to try making gnocchi.  When I was in Florence about ten years ago, I took a couple of cooking classes.  They were totally in Italian...eek!  But I was studying Italian at the time so I wasn't totally clueless.  And it is amazing how much you can understand when the food is right in front of you.  My teacher's trick to making good gnocchi was to add parmesan cheese.  You can see that this recipe uses parmesan cheese.  I boiled up a few and just had them with browned butter and yummy!

A couple of hints, do not incorporate any more flour than necessary.  Too much flour will make them heavy and doughy.  Also, work with lots of flour on the counter top.  As you roll the rope you may need a bit more flour so it isn't sticky.  Also, after you have cut the rope into 1" pieces you will want to toss them in flour so there are no sticky.

I made ricotta on yesterday's post and it is so easy.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

1 lb sweet potatoes

½ c fresh ricotta

2 T finely grated parmesan cheese

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

approx. 2 c all purpose

1.    Preheat oven to 375F.  Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork and wrap in foil.  Place in the oven directly on the rack and bake for 1 hour or until very tender.

2.    When done, remove the foil and let cool to room temperature.  Remove the skin and mash in a bowl with a fork.

3.    Stir in ricotta, nutmeg, parmesan, salt and pepper.

4.    Begin adding the flour, ½ c at a time, gently mixing with a fork or your hands.

5.    Continue adding flour until it becomes a dough that you can roll into ropes.  You still want a soft dough and only incorporate enough flour to make it a touchable dough without adding too much floury weight.

6.    Tear off a piece of dough and roll out into a ½” thick rope on a floured surface.  Use a lot of flour on the counter so you can add more if the dough is too sticky.  Cut the rope into 1” pieces.  Toss them in the flour to coat all the cut ends.  Roll each gnocchi across the back of fork tines.  Set them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

7.    When all of the dough has been made into gnocchi, place them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  If you are not using them right away, place the frozen gnocchi in a tightly sealed freezer bag.  These can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

8.    To serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a full boil.  Add gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface.  When they float, they are done.  Drain and serve with desired sauce.

Making Ricotta

This seems to be very popular right now and I would like to make gnocchi so I thought I would also try making ricotta.  It was dead simple!  Just sour some scalded milk.  Let it sit.  Strain.  I love how the cheesecloth leaves its pattern on the cheese.

Homemade Ricotta

2 litres of whole milk
2 T (30 ml)  white vinegar

Bring the milk to just scalding temperature and turn off the heat.  Stir in the vinegar.  Put the lid on and let it sit for an hour.  Carefully strain the clotted milk through a cheesecloth lined strainer.  I like mine quite dry, so I let it sit in the strainer overnight in the refrigerator.

The whey can be used for other cooking, such as soups and sauces.

Update on my New-to-Me Home

 

This is a before picture of my new home.  I call it a before picture, because I have big plans for this little house!  To me, it is a blank canvas.  Those three cedars in front have to go.  Due to the dry climate they require a lot of watering, and that has caused problems for the basement.  So I will replace them with some nice landscape grasses that are better suited to the climate.

All of the windows have to be replaced and the eavestroughs.  But that means I can get rid of all the brown.  Thankfully, it has a nice neutral roof colour.

This is my kitchen!  It will do for now but when I can get a contractor in, it will be replaced, too.

And what does Miss Sugar think of all this?   Hmmph....not my problem!

Pecan Sablé

Christmas is a distant memory and I had a hankering to make cookies.  A sablé is a French style shortbread.  It is lovely and buttery rich but is different from a shortbread because it uses eggs.  The word sablé is French for sand and they have a crumbly  texture, hence the name.  I decided to finely chop pecans and add them to the dough.  I also added Clementine zest.

Pecan Sablé            adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Place in a large bowl:

½ lb cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces

2 c all purpose flour

½ c finely chopped pecan

Using a pastry blender cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Beat together until well blended:

3 large egg yolks

½ c white sugar

¼ c powdered sugar

1/8 t salt

1 ½ t vanilla

1 T finely grated Clementine zest

Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and then knead to form a smooth dough.  Divide the dough in half.  Form each half into a log that has about a 2" diameter.  Roll the logs in more finely chopped pecans.  Wrap in waxed paper and put in the refrigerator to chill for about 1/2 hour.  These can also be tightly wrapped and frozen at this stage and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months before baking.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Take the log out of the refrigerator and slice into scant 1/2" cookies.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.  The bottoms should brown lightly.  Be careful not to overcook.  

When cooked, remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for a minute or two.  Then transfer to a cooling rack to thoroughly cool.  Be sure the baking sheet is cool before baking the next batch.

Note:  these can also be rolled and cut into circles.  Roll to about 1/4" thicknes.  The scraps can be rolled and re-rolled.  The last is as tender as the first.