Risotto in a Lemon Cup

Okay so I only used the Lemon Cups for my Gourmet Club in NYC. No I don't make them for just my family. Buuuut they sure looked cool didn't they? This is one of my faaaavorite desserts ... I mean ... side dishes.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

1 shallot minced
1 rib celery, chopped fine
2 T. unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/3 cups risotto rice, preferably Arborio

1⁄2 cup white wine
Approximately 1 quart chicken stock
1/2 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced
1 Tbs. Rosemary, chopped up
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish
1/3 cup mascarpone
Pepper
Salt, to taste

Put the shallots and celery into a mini food processor and blitz until they are finely chopped or cut up finely by hand. Heat the butter, the oil and the shallot and celery mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn't stick. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Add wine until and stir until evaporated. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.

Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need to add hot water from the kettle.

Mix the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready - when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite - take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy, lemony mixture, and salt, to taste. Serve with more Parmesan if you wish.

Saffron Rissoto

I have fallen in LOVE with Rissoto. My gourmet buddy Liz introduced me to the fine art of Rissoto a year ago and I learned it's actually fun to make and not as intimidating as it should be. It needs love. So while you're fixing your salad or preparing your side dish, just go back and stir the risotto often. If you love it, it will love you.

This recipe I just found from an email from Self.com, in my quest to get more healthy. We enjoyed it tonight and it was delicious! I'm convinced that pretty much anything cooked with wine is a fabulous. I added some marscapone cheese as well. Mmmm.

Ingredients

• 28 oz chicken stock
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
• Large pinch of saffron
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus shavings for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Bring stock to a low simmer in a medium pot. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute. Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice and a pinch of salt. Sauté until rice is translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and saffron; bring to a simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of wine. Add 2 ladles of stock to rice; simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of stock. Continue adding stock, allowing rice to absorb it before adding the next ladleful. Cook until rice is al dente and mixture is a little loose. Stir in butter. Turn off heat. Stir in grated cheese. Cover and let sit 2 minutes. Divide among 4 bowls. Garnish each with cheese shavings, if desired.