risotto ideas?

OK so I've perfected my wild mushroom risotto and it's pretty darn good. But I've got a fresh batch of carefully homemade dark chicken stock, and I'd like to try another risotto! Ideas?

I thought about seafood risotto - but isn't it odd to make one with chicken stock?

I'm not really into squash.

Chorizo is a personal favorite, though if your trying to accent the flavor of the stock chorizo may be a stronger flavor than you'd like.

Chorizo! That's a great idea... so which chorizo, the mexican one that melts, or the spanish style one that stays as a sausage? Any tips? I'd love to try that.

Suppose I should have clarified, in my neck of the woods the only quality chorizo is mexican-style unpacked sausage. The rendered fat is quite nice to saute shallots and the like in.

Great, thanks. So you put it at the beginning of the cooking then right?

Yeah, I cook it first, then I take it out and leave the oil to beginning the risotto cooking process, then add it back near/at the end.

Great - thanks a lot! Definitely something to try.

Risotto with cauliflower (doesn;t sound appealing, i know, but is really good.)
Risotto with peas (risi e bisi, venetian specialty)
Risotto with zucchine

Tomato risotto, made with onion/celery sofritto, then add crushed or fresh tomatoes, and vermouth. Love it.

Blue cheese risotto. Just like regular risotto but in addition to parmesan cheese add 1/2 cup of crumbled gorgonzola. Right before you serve it stir diced apple or pear, and top with crumbled walnuts. (Jamie Oliver recipe).

Spinach risotto - made just like basic risotto, except In the last 10 minutes of cooking I stir in lots and lots of baby spinache, a handful of chopped scallion, and a couple of tablespoons of fresh dill.

If you want seafood risotto, try green shrimp and chopped calms with celery, English peas, garlic, and shallots. Use either fish stock or just butter to keep from interfering with the shellfish flavor.

Green shrimp? Never seen those! Sounds like a good risotto though.

And "English peas"? Are those the same as green peas?

Thanks guys, that's a lot of great ideas I wouldn't have had.

I'm wondering.. with those, do you sauté the veggies at the beginning and leave them in throughout? I would expect the veggies to overcook and melt - is that what happens and is that what's expected?

Thanks!

IMO the greatest way you can treat yourself is to make risotto with truffles, white or black depending on what else goes in. Ingredients could include mushrooms, onion, parmesan, chicken or beef stock, or whatever you think will make you happy!

Yes, with the cauliflower and the zucchine, you saute' the veggies with either garlic or onion (i use garlic for cauliflower and onion for zucchine) in oil. When the onion or garlic is pretty much soft, and the vegetable starts to be cooked, you add the rice. Stir, cooking, till the grains are coated in the oil, then start adding water or broth.
The cauliflower should be cut up into small flowerets, and the bigger ones (most of them) cut lenghthwise in halves or quarters. The pieces should be small bite-size, so one or two will fit on a fork along with the rice.
Add the liquid a little at a time, as for regular risotto
With zucchine you won;t need as much liquid, of course.
The vegetables get soft and mushy, and sort of melt into the rice, with some pieces remaining to bite into.

Also great is to do the same, cooking till very soft but without rice, and then putting on top of cooked pasta. mix it in and add parmigiano.
With the cauliflower and pasta, i like a little red hot pepper, sauteed with the garlic. Just a bit.
I also sometimes add small cubes of pancetta, fried first to brown them, remove, add oil and do the garlic and cauliflower.

The cauliflower is surprisingly sweet-tasting.
I;ve also made risotto with cabbage. That's a surprise.

I never did it but pumpkin or squash is used alot in risotto.

Oh, and another kind my mother used to make, a tuscan recipe, is to sautee onions in butter till soft, add cut up chicken livers and gizzards and hearts, cook till browned, then add the rice. Add tomato and/or broth.

Green shrimp may be a local thing but I've had them my whole life. They're not so much green as sort of greenish blue when they are alive.

The English peas thing is another habit of my local fresh pantry. There are lots of things commonly called "green peas" by farmers and chefs alike in the South. Snap peas, field peas, sweet peas, English peas, and so forth. It's a habit from having to make the distinction my whole life.

Found a picture.


They get very mealy if they are overcooked so be careful with the heat if you find them.

Hey, those guys are tiger prawns in England! ;) Someone mentioned chorizo earlier, lovely with saffron, made with chicken stock and finished with fine herbs. How about roasted squash with thyme?

It's not that odd to make seafood risotto with chicken stock, it depends on what you are looking for.

I was going to say, they look exactly like what we call here Tiger shrimps - except where I buy them the shrimps don't have their head on.

Hmmm saffron. Love saffron.

Squash I'm not really into for some reason.

Thanks!

Seafood risotto made with fish stock can end up tasting too fishy, that's prob why the chicken stock.

Oh OK I didn't know that - never made a seafood risotto though. But I would have naturally used the heads of the shrimp (if any) to make stock for a shrimp risotto. But yeah I'm sure it tastes great with chicken stock.

They look like tiger prawns, but they are very small. They're about the size of the pad of my little finger when they're headed.

Edit: It was bugging me so I called my fish guy and asked. What are called "Green Shrimp" locally are a sub-species of the Atlantic White Shrimp, more specifically of the 51/60 size. The banding is, apparently, only found in shrimp found near reefs. Their open water buddies don't develop the stripes.

Wow cool - thanks so much ChefRay! So I guess we can't find those shrimp in the states.

I used to buy them in Charleston all the time. They might be scarce beyond the Eastern seaboard but they can be found.

I'll make sure to keep an eye out. I'm pretty sure I've never seen them (yet) here on the west coast.