Stuffed Tomatoes & Asparagus Risotto

I am so excited to post Wednesdays recipes that I barely have enough words to describe how excited I am.

My fiance's parents love to go to garage sales and when we were in the process of moving in to our new apartment, they always thought of us and what sort of little knickknacks  - cute and silly things that we never thought of, like a spoon rest or salt-and-pepper shakers. One time they brought us a gigantic bag of hangers. Another time, they brought us this cookbook:

Fiance's mom sheepishly admitted she tried one of the recipes before handing it over - but who can blame her? (The recipe she tried, by the way, was saffron risotto and it kicked butt)

I have a deep reverence for the Italians and their food. I think I might have been Italian in another life. But then again, the Jews and the Italians are practically the same culture: massive amounts of  unbelievably delicious food, overbearing mothers, emphatic gesturing, grandparents who feed first and ask questions later.  I also realized once I befriended someone who is Greek that the Greeks also fall under this category (the category being AWESOMENESS).

Anyway. Italian cuisine is probably my favorite (or have you forgotten my obsession with pasta?). So of course a cookbook titled "Basic Italian" (by Cornelia Schinharl, Sebastian Dickhaut & Kelsey Lane) would be right up my alley. I've tried two recipes from this book so far (which I promise to revisit sometime in the future for review on this blog) and I'm about to embark on two more. 

I was totally intrigued by this recipe for Pomodori ripieni (stuffed tomatoes), but I had no idea what to serve them with. Would they be too filling if I served them on the side with an actual entree? Or are they hearty enough to stand on their own? Thankfully, this is one of those cookbooks that gives you suggestions. At the bottom of each recipe, it offers ideas as to what will go with what. It turns out that these stuffed tomatoes are "delicious with grilled fish or meat; or, as a main dish with bread or risotto".

Risotto! A staple side in Italian cuisine. The book calls it "the best dish rice could ever aspire to" and I'm inclined to agree.

Did anyone ever watch the reality show "Hell's Kitchen"? This is one of those shows that fall into the category of "it seemed like a good idea at the time". For those who missed it, it was a cooking competition show hosted by Gordon Ramsey and was the American version of his similar UK show "Boiling Points". 

My parents, chefs both, used to love this show, and would often scoff when the so-called "professional" contestants failed to produce a simple risotto. "Risotto is like culinary one-oh-one!" they would laugh. "How can they be a professional and not be able to make a risotto?!"

I may be a n00b when it comes to cooking, but I'm 99% sure even I can whip up a risotto better than the contestants on "Hell's Kitchen". Hopefully, you'll be able to too!

Because it takes less attention, I'm going to start with the tomatoes. Here we go!

POMODORI RIPIENI (Stuffed Tomatoes), courtesy of "Basic Italian"

Feeds 4

YOU WILL NEED:

4 large or 8 medium tomatoes

1 (3.5oz) can oil-packed sardines

2 tablespoons black black olives (kalamata or Nicoise)

1/2 cup fresh parsley sprigs

1 onion

2 cloves garlic 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

mise-en-place!

As for equipment, you will be needing a large baking dish (9x13 is suitable), a medium skillet and, if you're trying to save time, a food processor. A quick note about the tomatoes - because I went food shopping on Saturday, so far in advance for this recipe, I purposefully picked tomatoes that were slightly under ripe. By the time I was ready to use them on Wednesday night, they were perfect.

1. Rinse tomatoes and cut top off each one - scoop out the contents (reserve). Discard the seeds and chop the rest of the contents finely. Drain the outer shell of tomatoes upside down on paper towels (to be stuffed later).

 

2. Drain sardines and chop. Dice pitted olives finely. Rinse parsley, pull off leaves and chop finely. Peel onion and garlic; chop both finely (here's where the food processor is useful).

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add and saute the onion and garlic. Stir in chopped tomato and parsley and cook uncovered over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in olives and sardines. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly, then add bread crumbs, Parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. 

5. Stuff the whole tomato shells by filling generously with the tomato-Parmesan--bread crumb mixture (overflowing is desirable). Arrange tomatoes side-by-side in a greased baking dish and sprinkle with remaining oil.

6. Bake tomatoes on the middle rack for about 30 minutes until the tops are nicely browned. 

Delicious! And, might I add, they smelled fantastic!

Now onto the risotto...

RISOTTO AGLI ASPARAGLI (Asparagus Risotto), courtesy of "Basic Italian"

Feeds 4-6

YOU WILL NEED:

1 lb green asparagus

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups risotto rice (arborio or vialone)

3 1/4 cups stock (veal is preferable, but beef will also work or even vegetable, if making vegetarian)

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 to 1 lemon

A few sprigs basil

3 1/2 oz fontina cheese (Parmesan or fontinella will also work)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

All you will need for this recipe is at least a 5-qt pot. Also, I want to add that you can find risotto in the pasta aisle of your grocery store. I almost had a little panic attack when I couldn't find it. Another thing: the recipe calls for fontina cheese, but in a pinch, fontinella cheese will do the trick. In my case, it was almost $1 cheaper to buy fontinella instead.

1. Rinse asparagus and trim off tough ends. Cut off the tips as well (about 1"), because you won't add them to the pot until later. Cut the rest into 1/2" pieces. Peel the onion and garlic; chop both finely.

2. Melt half the butter but don't brown. Briefly saute onion, garlic and asparagus in it while stirring constantly. Add rice and stir until the grains are shiny. Heat stock to a gentle boil.

3. Add wine and let evaporate over high heat while stirring. Then add 1 ladle stock and switch risotto pot to medium heat. Keep stirring diligently while gradually adding the hot stock. After 10 minutes, add the asparagus tips and after another 10 minutes, do a taste test. The grains should be easy to chew but not entirely soft.

4. Rinse lemon, pat dry and grate off a thin layer of zest - without the white part, which would impart a bitter taste to the risotto. Lemon zest should be in fine strips: if not, chop. Remove basil leaves and cut into narrow strips. Dice fontina cheese.

5. Add cheese, lemon zest, basil and remaining butter to the pot and stir only until the cheese has melted in the hot rice mixture. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy the delicious finale!

And the final plate!!! 

Whew!! What an arduous recipe this was. Definitely do not attempt if you have weak arm muscles. You literally are stirring the risotto dish for about twenty solid minutes.

I cooked this for friends who came over for our weekly viewing of "Face Off" and all I had to do was blink and the plates were clean! I was given a round of thumbs up and Fiance asked me to cook this again.

 

You might have noticed that on the right hand side of the blog I have added tags! YAY! What are tags? Well, say you want a chicken recipe. You can click on the "chicken" tag and it will show you all my entries that have chicken in them! 

I'm labeling this recipe as both Fish and Vegetarian. The tomatoes have sardines in them, so that's the fish. However, to make both recipes vegetarian, simply omit the sardines from the tomato recipe and use vegetable stock in the risotto instead of beef or veal. Simple, yes? Also, it's tagged as Side Dish because separately, they are two side dishes coming together to make one entree.

Keep your eyes peeled for a shrimp scampi recipe! Also, surprise - I have a great weeknight recipe for spicy chicken wings that is sure to set your mouth on fire with its deliciousness!

Until next time - eat, drink and be merry!