January 19, 2015
I’m pretty sure everybody knows that risotto is a traditional Italian dish. Usually cooked with arborio rice, good quality white wine and stock. This is one of my favourite Italian foods as it’s so easy to cook at home and there are so many ways to give it a twist. But somehow I usually cook that in spring with fresh peas, asparagus or saffron. As we are still in the middle of the chilly winter when a bowl of comfort food is heart warming I wanted to make a risotto in a winter style. I hesitated among celeriac, beetroot and butternut squash. All of them are lovely winter vegs and go pretty well with risotto. But roasted celeriac opt was a really amazing choice topped with crispy celeriac chips. And don’t swap frying crisps, it’s worth.
Ingredients:
Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as a starter
2 tbsp rapseed oil (or olive oil)
2 tbsp butter
200 gr arborio rice
1 smaller leek
2 garlic cloves
2 celery sticks
200 gr celeriac
200 ml dry white wine (preferably Chardonnay)
appr 1000 ml stock ( I used beef but chicken or vegetable stock is also an option)
80 gr freshly grated pamesan
vegatable oil for frying crisps
- Clean the leek then slice finely. Peel the celeriac then set aside. Slice the celery sticks.
- Heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan, add the half of butter and heat on low until melted. Add the leek and sautee for a few minutes, but don’t let brown. Add the sliced celery sticks and crushed garlic cloves, too. Stir occasionally don’t let burn.
- Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a baking tray with kitchen foil and sprinkle with some oil. Finely dice 100 gr celeriac and arrange on the tray. Salt slightly then roast for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile pour the stock into an other pan and heat on low then gently simmer.
- Add the rice to vegs. Turn the heat on medium and stir frequently. When hot enough pour the wine into the pan. Take a step away to avoid burning.
- When the wine is absorbed add a ladle of hot stock then stir with a wooden spoon. Wait until the liquid is absorbed, it takes about 3-5 minutes. Then repeat the process until all the stock is gone, or the rice is cooked ‘al dente’. It takes usually up to 25-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile slice the rest of celeriac very finely. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium heat then add the celeriac slices. Fry for a few minutes then turn and fry the other side until golden. Remove from the oil with a spotted spoon and have rest on kitchen towel until served.
- When the rice is cooked remove the pan from the hob. Stir the butter and parmesan in then keep warm until served. Add the roasted celeriac and stir carefully not to be mashy.
- Pile the risotto on a plate then garnish the top with celeriac crisps. Serve immediately.
This post is an entry for the Destinology Competition , Reimagine a Classic.
