Whenever I get a craving for something really rich and creamy, I make a risotto. I know you might think that's odd, after all how can a big bowl of rice be so satisfying but I think it's the combination of the creamy yet still al dente rice along with the knowledge that I'm not eating something with eight zillion grams of fat that makes it a totally pleasurable eating experience. Since it always takes me at least 45 minutes in the kitchen to make a risotto (mine never ever cook in 20 minutes- I think I must be buying mutant super hard rice or something) I always tend to make enough for 6 or 8 portions but there really is only so much risotto I can eat in a week, even with Zach's help.
A few weeks ago I made a spring vegetable risotto from a Marcella Hazan recipe. It looked so good, packed with fresh zucchini, carrots and tomato. This time, I decided to try freezing a few portions of the risotto for later consumption. At the time I was mostly worried about the veggies- would the zucchini get mushy or would the tomatoes disintegrate? It turns out I needn't have worried about the veggies as they stood up perfectly fine to the freezing but the rice didn't fare so well. Though perfectly cooked when I packed it away, 3 weeks in the freezer turned it to mush and the consistency was rather like baby food. I'm not sure if I will try freezing risotto again, but if I do, I'll definitely undercook it first. Next time I think I'll try to make arancini, the fried balls of risotto filled with cheese, with the leftovers instead.
I haven't posted the recipe here but if you are interested in it (and it was really good when first made) just send me an email and I'll send it to you.
1 comment:
Yeah, I've always heard risotto is just not something that saves well. We love it & eat it a lot during colder weather but I usually just make 2 servings.
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