Rice & Grains Archives - Very EATalian

Risotto with Wild Hop Shoots (Risotto con Bruscandoli)

May 17, 2020 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

Did you think hops were just for beer? Brewers may be interested in the flower, but their delicate shoots are also a unique ingredient for risottos and frittatas!

In early spring, my family and I usually take walks in the country and look around for these thin green shoots growing wild in the Friuli and Veneto countryside. They look like delicate miniature asparagus and you can spot them near bramble bushes and scruffy vegetation areas dividing land properties. After we’ve gathered a big bunch of “bruscandoli”, we proudly carry them home and turn them into a delicious dish.

If you’re not into foraging, wild hop shoots are not an uncommon sight on market stalls in early spring.

Now, scroll down for a delicious risotto with wild hop shoots recipe!

Risotto with Wild Hop Shoots (Risotto con bruscandoli) | Very EATalian

Risotto with Wild Hop Shoots (Risotto con Bruscandoli)

Cook Time 22 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Very EATalian

Ingredients

400 g (14 oz) Carnaroli or Arborio rice
a drizzle of olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped
a bunch of wild hop shoots chopped (tougher ends removed)
1.5 liter (6 cups) vegetable broth
a splash of white wine
30 g (2 Tbsp) butter
50 g (1/2 cup) parmesan cheese
25 g 1/4 cup toasted almonds chopped
salt

Instructions

In a heavy medium saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil.
Add onion and chopped wild hop shoots and cook until softened. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add wine and cook until it’s completely evaporated.
Reduce heat and add a ladleful of broth, stirring frequently and allowing the liquid to absorb fully before adding more. Repeat the process, adding a ladleful of broth at a time. Cook rice until “al dente”, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat, add butter and grated cheese. Mix well until melted and creamy. Add salt, to taste. You can stir in more broth to adjust consistency. Sprinkle some chopped almonds on top and serve.

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! You can leave a comment below the recipe or share a photo on IG or FB. Don’t forget to tag me with #veryeatalian! Grazie!

Pomegranate Sausage Risotto

December 13, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

I always miss my husband…but I miss him even more when it’s time to de-seed a pomegranate. With a couple of ninja moves, he’s able to get every single seed out the whole fruit. No matter how hard I try, I make a huge mess and I splatter everything with red juice. It’s like a blood bath.

Yes, de-seeding a pomegranate is a pain for me. However, this fruit is so delicious and healthy, it’s totally worth the effort and it regularly makes it to my table each fall. I’m not sure how you like to eat it, but my new thing is to add it to a basic risotto with sausage. I love how the pomegranate brightens up the sausage heartiness and adds more textural interest to the whole dish….

Warm Vegan Farro Bowl

November 24, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

The cold weather’s finally kicked in and I celebrated its arrival by indulging a liiiittle too much in comfort food…I’m talking about all those Northern Italian hearty dishes I missed so much last year, when I was in Florida. Cooking or eating polenta, frico con le patate, or salame con l’aceto in hot and humid weather just didn’t feel right. Some dishes are meant to be eaten when it’s cold out — which reminds me of that time when I ordered a soupe a l’oignon in a restaurant in Paris on a particularly hot summer night. I’m not sure how my friend Raina was able to keep her composure in front of my regretful and sweat-dripping face.

The other day, in an effort to satisfy my body’s cravings for a leaner type of meal, I made this tasty warm farro bowl, grilling some of the vegetables I had at home: carrots, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli, onion, and some pretty long, thin and purple eggplants (similar to Chinese eggplants). Farro is a type of grain whose nutty and hearty flavor make it an ideal base for seasonal fall salads. I love its satisfying texture — I’ll trade any quinoa salad for a farro one any day of the week!…

Orzotto (Barley Risotto) with Dandelion Greens and Mascarpone Cheese

April 13, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

Have you ever foraged for wild greens? I know it may sound a bit hippy, but I have–several times, actually! In Italy during the springtime, I used to tag along with my mom and aunts as they went through the open fields behind the house, looking for wild greens such as poppy and dandelion leaves. If we were lucky, we also found hop shoots and nettles. We usually left in the mid-afternoon and came back at dusk with bags full of green goodies which inevitably ended up in a nice risotto or a tasty frittata.

It’s a very frugal and nature-friendly way of eating, but you have to be able to recognize edible plants otherwise you may end up eating greens that simply taste bad or, even worse, are poisonous. The good news is you can enjoy these flavorful wild greens without becoming a foraging expert. Certain grocery stores and farmers markets occasionally carry them. For example, I found these beautiful dandelion leaves at The Fresh Market!

Dandelion greens are super nutritious: they are rich in iron and calcium and loaded with vitamins A, C and K. They can be a tad bitter but, when cooked, their sharp flavor gets milder. In this springtime recipe, I added dandelion greens to an orzotto, which is barley (orzo, in Italian) cooked the exact same way as rice in a more traditional risotto–by toasting the grain with sautéed onion or shallot, and then adding wine, followed by broth. The mascarpone cheese is a last-minute addition I made to further mitigate the bitterness of the dandelion greens. The orzotto turned out perfect: creamy, fresh, and delicate.

ORZOTTO WITH DANDELION GREENS AND MASCARPONE CHEESE
Orzotto al tarassaco e mascarpone
Servings: 2 | Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 30 min

INGREDIENTS
1 lt (32 oz) vegetable broth
a small bunch of dandelion greens, roughly chopped
a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup shallot, chopped
3/4 cup quick-cooking barley (I used Trader Joe’s 10-min barley)
(optional) ¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup mascarpone cheese
a handful of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
salt
freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Add dandelion greens in it and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove them from the saucepan with a strainer and set aside. Keep broth simmering throughout the recipe.
2. In a separate heavy-bottom saucepan, heat butter and extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped shallot, and sauté until translucent.
3. [Take note of the time, as I’ll use this exact moment as reference (*)] Turn the heat to medium-high, add the barley and toast it for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the wine (or ¼ cup of broth) and cook until absorbed.
4. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add a ladle of broth and let the barley absorb the liquid, stirring occasionally. Once the liquid is absorbed, add a ladle of broth again. [Repeat this step throughout the recipe, letting the barley absorb each addition of broth.]
5. 6-7 minutes in (*), add dandelion. Stir. Keep on adding broth as it gets absorbed by the barley.
6. 16-17 minutes in (*), stop adding broth. Let the barley absorb the last bit of liquid.
7. 20-25 minutes in (*), the barley should be creamy and al dente. Remove from heat and stir in mascarpone until melted. Add parmesan cheese and, only if necessary, a bit of salt. Stir vigorously for about a minute to make orzotto ever creamier. Let rest for 2-3 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.

Buon appetito!

Lisa

Risotto with Taleggio Cheese, Pears, and Walnuts

February 20, 2015 By very EATalian 2 Comments

Brrrrr. Today it’s wintertime here in Florida; it’s unusually cold and windy outside. I love the cold weather, especially because it allows me to flaunt my fashionable hats, gloves, and scarves. When it’s windy, though, I’d rather lock myself up in the house. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m all wrapped up in my favorite blanket, sipping on a cup of hot tea and still mentally savoring the warm, delicious risotto I prepared today.

I’ve been tickled by the idea of preparing a nice risotto with taleggio cheese and pears for a long time, but I’ve never been able to find this cheese in grocery stores around here. Finally, a very cool and beautiful store that recently opened up in St. Petersburg, called Locale Market, has put an end to my extensive search. Hallelujah.

In case you didn’t know, taleggio is an intense, rich, semi-soft cheese. It’s known for its pungent and strong aroma, and its unexpectedly mild, sweet and lightly tangy flavor. It melts really well, and it’s perfect for winter dishes. An Italian saying goes “al contadino non far sapere quant’è buono il cacio con le pere”, which means “don’t tell a farmer how good cheese is with pears”, implying that he would charge more or never part with them in the first place. There’s so much truth in this old saying! Pears and cheese are divine together.

When I unwrapped the taleggio cheese from its packaging, the strong aroma pervaded the whole kitchen. Despite the pungent smell of this cheese, you wouldn’t believe how delicate, yet flavorful this risotto turned out. The sweetness and brightness of the pear perfectly balanced the buttery and rich flavor of the taleggio. A final sprinkle of walnuts added further texture to the dish.

It was exactly what I needed in this cold and windy day–a flavorful and comforting risotto to warm me up.

RISOTTO WITH TALEGGIO CHEESE, PEARS, AND WALNUTS
Servings: 2 | Preparation time: 10-15 minutes | Cooking time: 25 minutes
Note: If you can’t find taleggio, you can substitute it in this recipe with a soft gorgonzola or fontina cheese

INGREDIENTS
1 lt (32 oz) vegetable broth
extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp butter (+ ½ Tbsp)
1/4 cup shallot, chopped
1 big Bosc pear, diced
175 g (1 cup) arborio or carnaroli rice
50 g (~2 oz) taleggio cheese, diced
(optional) ¼ cup dry white wine
a handful of parmesan cheese, grated
a handful of walnuts, coarsely chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat vegetable broth in a saucepan.
2. In a dutch-oven (or a thick-bottom pot), add 1 tablespoon of butter and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. Add chopped shallot, and sauté until translucent.
3. [The risotto cooks in about 20 minutes] Turn the heat to medium-high, add the rice and toast it briefly, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Once the rice grains start to look shiny and semi-transparent, pour in the wine or ¼ cup of broth. Let the rice absorb the liquid.
4. Turn the heat to medium-low and add a ladleful of broth. Stir until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat this step throughout the recipe, adding broth and stirring the rice often, letting it absorb the liquid slowly.
5. Halfway through (about 10 minutes after adding rice), add the diced pears. Continue adding broth regularly, until the rice is plump and al dente. I usually stop adding liquid about 17 minutes in.
6. When the rice is al dente, remove it from the heat. Add taleggio cheese, ½ tablespoon of butter and the parmesan cheese. Add salt, if necessary. Stir vigorously for about a minute to make it creamy. Let rest for 2-3 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.

Buon Appetito!

Lisa