Dalia's Kitchen: risotto

"Dubai Goes Pink" and a Lamb and Pea Risotto...

Image by Sukaina Rajabali

I love the month of October. I love the fact that everyone is trying to raise awareness about this awful disease. From schools, to businesses and individuals, it's so lovely to see such an effort being made by everyone to make a difference. From friends to family members, I'm sure we all know someone who was affected. In my case, my aunt battled this disease a few years ago, as well as someone I worked with who is now a friend. So I know how hard it can be, and getting checked is vital.

As we do every year, we sell pink cakes at the Kitsch bakeries and donate proceeds to the "Safe and Sound Program". This year I am also doing a "Think Pink" coffee morning with one of my favourite stores, Tavola, this coming Sunday. (If you would like to join us, kindly message me for details :)

We'll be serving scrumptious pink cakes from Kitsch and are donating 15% of the book sale's that day to the breast cancer awareness program Breast Cancer Arabia: "Dubai Goes Pink".

I'll be cooking up a few dishes from the cookbook that morning so as I was going over which recipes to make, I decided to post one of them, which is this fabulous Lamb and Pea Risotto. Since our weekend is just about to start, I won't make this a long post. I hope you try making this delicious little dish, it's quite easy to make. I'm convinced it will be a staple at home after you try it...

And if you are free this coming Sunday, try to swing by for the pink cooking demo and some yummy tidbits.

Have a fab weekend!

D xx

Recipe in the cookbook "Food, Love and Life from Dalia's Kitchen"

Wild Mushroom Risotto

picture by and for ITP Publishing

I'm a big fan of risotto.. Huge! Phiras didn't like them too much, until he tried mine of course ;) and now he licks the pan every time I prepare this typical Italian delicacy.. Perfect for a romantic dinner a deux, just as featured in a special Valentine's spread in Harper's Bazaar Arabia's February issue.

Medium Difficulty. Prep & Cook Time: ~40 minutes

Serves 2

2 cups of mixed mushrooms
100g Arborio rice
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
½ cup white wine
~3 cups chicken stock
¼ cup parmesan, grated
large knob of butter
drizzle of truffle oil if available

In a deep pan, heat a little olive oil and butter. Cook the onions until they are translucent, add the garlic and cook for another few minutes. Add the rice, 2/3 of the mushrooms, and combine all ingredients well. Deglaze with white wine, and once absorbed, add a little stock.

Cook until it's absorbed and repeat the process until your risotto is almost done, maybe a few minutes away from al dente (done but still with a little bite to it). Add the remaining mushrooms, and cook until the risotto is ready. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper along the cooking process.

Remove the risotto from the heat, add Parmesan, then the butter, stir well, drizzle with truffle, and serve immediately. Buon Appetito!

Golden Saffron Risotto

In Dubai we have the most beautiful saffron.. And I love the simplicity of saffron risotto.. Enjoy this velvety dish with a crisp glass of white wine.. The taste, the scent and the golden color is simply beautiful!

Serves 3-4 persons

1 chopped onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano (risotto) rice
5-6 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of white wine
1 tsp of saffron
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
one large knob of butter
salt and cracked pepper to taste
a little chopped basil or parsley for garnish (optional)

In a large pan heat a generous amount of olive oil and cook the onions until they are translucent.. Add the rice and cook for a few minutes, then deglaze with the white wine and once absorbed add a little stock.. Add half the saffron, salt and pepper to taste, and cook on med-high heat until the stock is absorbed.. Add some more stock and repeat the process until the risotto is almost ready but still has a proper bite to it, then add the remaining saffron.. Continue cooking until al dente, remove from the heat, add the Parmesan and finish with the a large knob of butter.. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or basil and voila!

Green Pea Risotto & Rosemary Lamb Loins

Lamb and peas, peas and lamb.. I haven't decided who the star in this recipe is, but it's definitely a heavenly combination!

Serves 2-3 persons

6-8 lamb loins (with or without bone)

1 rosemary twig

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 onion chopped

2-3 chopped garlic cloves

1 cup arborio or carnoli rice

1 1/2 cup of frozen green peas

1/2 cup white wine

about 4 cups of chicken stock

2 TBL mascarpone

3/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

olive oil

butter

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the frozen peas for about 4-5minutes in boiling water.. Keep 1/4 of the peas aside and puree the rest in a processor..

In a deep pan, heat a little olive oil & butter.. Cook the onions until they are translucent, add the garlic and cook for another few minutes.. Add the rice and combine all ingredients well, then deglaze with white wine, and once absorbed, add a little stock.. Cook until it's absorbed and repeat the process until your risotto is almost done (a few minutes until readiness).. Now add the pea puree and cook your risotto al dente (pls no mushiness!).. Don't forget to season as your cooking..

In another pan, heat a little olive oil & butter, add the rosemary twig and cook for a few minutes to flavour the pan.. Season lamb and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side (for medium) then place on a heated plate.. Deglaze the pan with red wine, cook on high heat, add the stock, a knob of butter, season and keep it aside..

Once the risotto is ready, add the remaining peas, mascarpone and Parmesan, sprinkle with parsley and it's ready to plate! Place lamb loins on the risotto, pour the sauce over it and voila - delicious!

Asparagus Risotto

People are usually worried about making Risotto, yet it really is the simplest thing! And I paticular love this risotto recipe..

1 chopped onion

2 crushed cloves of garlic

1 cup risotto rice (Arborio or Vialone Nano for ex)

3 bunches of asparagus tips

about 3-4 cups of chicken stock

pinch of saffron

large knob of butter

1 cup of white wine

1/2 cup shaved parmesan

little chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a generous amount of olive oil on medium heat and sweat the onions and garlic until nicely glazed.. Add the rice and fry it a little to get some flavour, you could add a little chilli if you like at this point.. Deglaze your pan with the white wine and then add half of the asparagus tips and the saffron.

Add about 1 cup of hot stock, salt and pepper, and simmer until it is almost fully absorbed by the rice.. Add another cup of stock and basically repeat the same step until your rice is al dente - meaning it's cooked yet you still feel a little bite to it.. In the meantime, blanch the remaining asparagus tips for 2-3 minutes in hot boiling water and set them aside..

Once you feel your risotto is nice and al dente, take the pan off the heat, add the remaining asparagus, then the butter and parmesan.. Finally sprinkle with the chopped parsley and voila.. Homemade risotto :)

Older Posts

"Dubai Goes Pink" and a Lamb and Pea Risotto...

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Golden Saffron Risotto

Green Pea Risotto & Rosemary Lamb Loins

Asparagus Risotto

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