Trending Italian: Brown Rice & Veggie Risotto with Crispy Prosciutto
I've started to notice a trend in my posts in that they tend to lean Italian. In fact, the inspiration for this risotto came from all the leftover ingredients I had from making pizza last night, which I didn't even post. I grew up in a household where simple Italian food was a staple and always the one agreed upon cuisine when picking restaurants as a family. I'm also part Italian, so maybe that's part of it, too.
For the past several years, my husband and I have participated in cooking groups with friends and one of my favorite conversations to start with new guests is what they ate growing up. I assumed everyone had had similar experiences, eating similar dishes, including a frequent rotation of Italian dishes. That is, until I met someone who had always considered Italian food "exotic", as he'd always eaten hearty German food as a child. I was flabbergasted! How could pasta and red sauce be exotic?! This blew my mind. After this exchange, I became intrigued by hearing others' stories of childhood dinners, who did the cooking and other family culinary traditions.
While I didn't eat risotto growing up, Italian dishes in general bring me back to my roots. I often don't use a recipe with Italian food because it's more a natural feel for me than an exact science. You'll find that is definitely the case with this risotto dish. The other great part is that you can really throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand. In this dish, I included fresh carrots and sweet corn from the Fulton Farmers Market, as well as a bit of smoked mozzarella I picked up over the weekend from Eichten's Cheese & Bison in Center City, MN (which is the same place that makes the bison braunschweiger I used in a previous bahn mi recipe). Feel free to experiment with your favorite veggies or whatever you might have on hand.
Brown Rice & Veggie Risotto with Crispy Prosciutto
Serves: 2-4 (2 as an entree with leftovers, 4 as a side dish)
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
olive oil
1 medium shallot, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 c. sundried tomatoes, diced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 c. brown rice
1/2 c. dry vermouth (or dry white wine)
6 c. broth (chicken, vegetable, etc. —I used lobster Better Than Boullion, it's amazing)
2 slices prosciutto, torn into bite-sized pieces
1-2 ears sweet corn, cut off cob
1 c. good quality Parmesan cheese (or other harder Italian cheese), grated
1/2 c. smoked mozzarella, grated (optional)
Method:
1. Chop/slice vegetables as noted above. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot with a lid over medium heat (I used my Lodge enameled cast-iron pot). Add shallots and saute until slightly softened, then add carrots, peppers, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms. Continue to saute until pepper has softened and mushrooms start to brown.
2. Add in rice and pour in another tablespoon of olive oil. Stir to coat the rice and mix within the vegetables. Let the rice toast briefly and then deglaze the pot with the dry vermouth. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and let the liquid cook off. Turn heat to medium-low and add 1/2 cup of broth to the pot. Cover, but leave the lid slightly askew, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate, but also keeping some moisture in the pot.
3. As soon as it seems as though there is no more liquid in the pot, or just a tiny bit, add another 1/2 cup of broth. Continue to do this until the rice has reached an al dente consistency. If there is too much liquid, uncover more of the pot. You may or may not use all of the broth. While the rice is cooking, lightly brown prosciutto pieces in a frying pan until crispy. Set aside.
4. Once the rice seems done, add in the fresh corn kernels. Stir to combine and reduce heat to a very low setting. Add the cheese, 1/4 cup at a time, continuing to stir. Add more broth if the risotto becomes too sticky. You'll want it to be thick enough that it doesn't run down the back of a spoon too quickly, but not so thick that its malleable. Again, it's all about your own personal tastes and preferences, but that is what I was going for while making this dish.
5. Top risotto with crispy prosciutto and more cheese, if desired.
