Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Rice for Dessert?


So I think most people have probably seen one particular celebrity chef who insists that contestants on his show know how to make risotto. To be fair, he's probably right, risotto really is a dish that any chef should know how to make. The only problem is that  until a few months ago I'd never made it. For my first batch, I found a couple of recipes online, took the best parts of each ingredient list, and started cooking. I was happy with how it came out, but I felt like I needed more practice (and I probably still do). A few days later I got out the arborio rice again and decided to make up my own recipe. Using the ingredients I had, I came up with this dessert recipe.

Apple Cinnamon Dessert Risotto

3/4 Cup champagne
3 Cups apple juice
3/4 Cup Arborio (or other medium white grain) rice
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 medium apple, chopped
1/4 cup walnut chips
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Place the apple juice in a teapot and bring to a simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat in the butter. Continue toasting the rice, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Add the Champagne and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering juice and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the juice 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of juice to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the apple, remaining butter, walnuts, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon into serving dishes. Serve with a champagne/apple juice cocktail made of equal parts of each (chilled, of course)

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