This month's Recipes to Rival pick was right up my alley. Debyi of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen chose Asparagus and Lemongrass Risotto. As I have said many time in the past, I love risotto and make it any chance I can get.
I am also a big lover of asparagus and enjoy incorporating it in dishes all the time. I even made an asparagus risotto a few months before this challenge. I loved it but this risotto blew it out of the water. The only component of this risotto that I had never had before was the lemongrass. I haven't ran across it very often in my local grocery stores in the past. Imagine my surprise when I saw it a few weeks prior to the announcement of the recipe at my nearby Super Wal-Mart of all places! Not knowing yet what the challenge was at the time I saw it, I passed it by thinking I may need to find a way to use it later. The day after I found out what were making this month, I went to the store to pick up a stalk. And they were completely out! I couldn't believe it. How many people in Texas use this?! Apparently more than I thought! They were also out still a week later. I was worried I was going to have to locate an alternative ingredient or dried. I almost decided to make a trip to Central Market to see if they had any but that usually isn't a good idea because I spend way to much money there! I gave it one more week and (joy!) they had it back in stock.
A big part of this challenge was that the risotto had to be vegan. Absolutely no animal products. Being a life long meat eater, I thought that this was going to be rather hard. I've been using less meat in my meals because of my self enforced food budget so that wasn't an issue really. I normally reach for chicken stock however so the veggie stock called for not something I kept in the pantry. Leaving out the parmesan that usually comes at the end of making a risotto was probably the most painful. I loooooovvvvveeeee cheese. Seriously. Its like an addiction. But like all addictions, it had to be overcome (at least for this challenge!). In the end, despite my whining, going vegan for the challenge wasn't all that hard. In fact, it was pretty easy and tasty!
In addition to the set challenge, I decided to challenge myself to make homemade vegetable stock. Many have proclaimed how much better the flavor is when you use homemade stock and it has been on my list of things to make for a long time. I made a version loosely based on this one by Martha Stewart. I had a lot of vegetable trimmings frozen and this was the perfect time to use them up and make a stock. It turned out slightly darker (because I caramelized the onions) than I had imagined but the flavor was delicious! I canned the rest in quart jars for later use.
This risotto was quite unlike one I've ever had. Normally, the risottos I eat and make are very italian in flavor and look. The soy/lime asian flavors that came out of this one were a great change and made it very big hit. It was almost like eating a fried rice. And fried rice is one of my favorites! While I'm not usually one for a lot of spice in a dish, I loved the heat from the red pepper flakes. I used about a 1/4 tsp for half of a batch and that added A LOT of heat. But in combination with the asian flavors of the risotto, it just worked.
One thing I found out in the making of this risotto was that asparagus does not freeze well. At least the batch that I had. It came out slightly goopy and limp. In the end, I picked out most of it when I ate. The since the asparagus was a flop, I was so excited to find out that the peanuts were such a delicious addition. They were fabulous a great, crunchy element that I was not expecting. Since I love peanuts, this was another reason for me to love this risotto!
Thanks to Debyi for such a great challenge! To see more risotto, check out the R2R blogroll!
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Serves 4-6
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero from Veganomicon
Lemongrass Broth:
3 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
1” piece fresh ginger, sliced into ¼” slices
1 small stalk lemongrass, or 1 TBSP dried, chopped lemongrass
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
3 TBSP tamari (or soy sauce, or more broth)
Risotto:
½ cup cooking sherry or white wine (D'Aquino Pinot Grigio is a good choice, any dry white wine, or just water)
1 lb asparagus
2 TBSP vegetable broth
1 cup basil leaves (Thai, if you can find it), sliced into thin strips
2 TBSP chopped fresh mint
6 large shallots, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano red chile, sliced very thinly (or ½ – 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes)
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
1 tsp sugar (optional)
2 TBSP lime juice
Chopped roasted peanuts and lime wedges, for garnish (you can use pine nuts or sliced almonds instead of the peanuts)
1.If using fresh lemongrass, peel away and discard any brown stems from the stalk. Slice the stalk in half lengthwise and cut into 3” to 4” lengths, then julienne.
2.Give the garlic and the ginger a could whack with the side of your knife, keeping them whole. Prepare your herb pouch, if using.
3.Place all of the broth ingredients in a large stockpot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the broth, discarding the vegetables and herbs. Pour the broth back into the pot, cover and simmer over as low a heat as possible to keep warm.
4.Slice the asparagus into ½” pieces, removing any tough parts from the bottom of the stem. Separate the tips from the stems and place each in separate bowls.
5.In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot, saute the asparagus in 1 TBSP vegetable broth over medium heat until bright and crisp tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the basil and mint, saute for 30 seconds, remove from heat and set aside.
6.Add the remaining tablespoon vegetable broth to the pan. Saute the shallots and garlic, stirring occasionally, until shallots are very soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the serrano and rice, saute for about 8 minutes, until the rice smells slightly toasted. Add the cooking sherry (or white wine) and stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed.
7.Now, time for relaxation and stirring. Get a glass of your favorite beverage, turn on some soothing music, or a good movie. Ladle about ½ cup of the broth at a time into the rice, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed. Stir and cook until the rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in the center.
8.When the broth is almost gone, stir the sugar and lime juice into the remaining broth before adding it to the risotto. You may add more water or vegetable broth in ¼ cup increments if needed. This will take about 35 minutes.
9.Stir the asparagus stems into the risotto and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the asparagus has reached desired tenderness.
10.Garnish each serving with the asparagus tips, chopped roasted peanuts, and lime wedges.
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