Thai Fresh Crab & Corn Risotto

If you never change your mind, why have one? – Edward de Bono

As we say in Nova Scotia, "some good"!

Sometimes it’s good to surprise yourself. Especially when good means “tasty.” Restaurant tasty. That’s how I would describe this.

Not all surprises work out this well. And it was completely without any real forethought at the grocery store. The recipe came about because I changed my mind.

Crab “clusters” (legs and body) are on sale this week for 1/3 their normal price at the Superstore. Local corn is also making an appearance (3/$1). With such finds I usually am inspired to make Chinese crab and corn soup. So I bought some with that in mind.

But, as I said, by the time dinner rolled around I changed my mind. What I wanted to make had lost all its appeal for some reason. Now there’s nothing wrong with crab and corn chowder, but it’s my stomach and I (too often) listen to what it tells me.

Regardless of my stomach's inner voice, I was still stuck with 2 ingredients, crab and corn. Thank goodness for Google’s search function. A quick look gave me many hits – mostly for crab and corn soup! An alternate that stood out was for Italian corn risotto. It sounded pretty interesting. There was no reason I couldn’t add in crab. 

But Italian and crab really don’t spring to mind as a common combo. Perhaps time for an exercise in fusion cuisine?

Just add enough liquid every time so
the contents is covered slightly.

So I trekked across the Middle East, over India and into southeast Asia for my flavours: coconut, chilli and ginger. To really get coconut in this I double-dosed it. It’s in both the oil and the braising liquid for the rice. Don't be fooled – coconut oil imparts a coconut taste. Sometimes this is advantageous, sometimes not. This time it helped make everything quite nicely coco-nutty.

If you want to make something unexpected for company I say look no further. This is a drop-dead delicious meal and pretty on the plate to boot. Perhaps a little green salad on the side to round things out...

Thai Fresh Crab & Corn Risotto*

Prep: 20 min  |  Cook: 20 min  |  Serves 4

250 g fresh King crab meat, shelled

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp crated fresh ginger

1 hot red chilli, finely diced (or 2 tsp dried chilli flakes)

1 cup Calrose rice

1 can coconut milk, plus enough chicken stock to make 1L

2 ears corn, kernels removed

salt and pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Clean the pre-cooked crab, if purchasing in clusters, and discard the shells. You should have at least 250 g meat.

Combine the coconut milk and stock in a pot and bring to a simmer. Keep warm.

Heat the coconut oil in a wide sauté pan. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Sauté until the  onion begins to look transparent. Then add the rice and sauté for 2 minutes. Finally add the corn kernels. Reduce heat to medium high.

Begin to add the hot liquid to the rice/corn mixture, using just enough to cover. Stir while it cooks. Do NOT go answer the phone or the rice may stick and burn.

Add more milk and stock as the liquid is absorbed, stirring. Continue to cook until the rice is “al dente” (still has a slight resistance when bitten). This may take a little less than the 1L or a little more. If you need more liquid, use hot water. 

This is the amount of liquid that should be left. Some, but not much. You should
be able to drag the spatula across the bottom of the pan and it remains dry.

The risotto is dry enough when almost all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. You need to leave some “creaminess” with the rice so it isn’t completely dry.

Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the crab and cilantro. Serve immediately.

* You can use canned crab and frozen or canned for kernels, but why would you if fresh is available and affordable?

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Recipe: Risotto with Shrimp and Portobello Mushrooms

You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. – Julia Child 

A Milan market. Photo: luigi, Flickr ccl

What is risotto?

Risotto is an Italian dish that consists of rice slowly cooked in low levels of broth until creamy in consistency. It may include, among aromatic ingredients, protein such as chicken, fish, or meat, and often vegetables. There are many risotto dishes that are solely vegetarian. For example, an earlier post on this blog has a recipe for Risotto with Beets, Gorgonzola and Walnuts. (search "risotto", or "beets")

Arborio rice. Photo: tariqata, Flickr ccl

Short grain rice is most commonly used to make risotto due to its high starch content. Two favourites are arborio or carnaroli, both easy to acquire at the local grocery or specialty market. The other standard ingredient is parmesan cheese, the best being Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Risotto is a dish that requires constant stirring, but it well worth the minimal effort on that part. Once you understand the basic technique variations can be endless.

A brief history

Risotto has been made in Italy since the 1300s when the Arabs brought rice to Sicily during their occupation. Italy was ideal to grow rice due to the sunshine, humidity and rich soil. Since it was easy to grow and subsequently became plentiful, rice entered the lexicon of Italian cuisine.

Cathederal Duomo di Milano. Photo: Bernt Rostad, Flickr ccl

The story of the risotto is quite interesting. More so than most other foods, because it was created to be a failure!

From http://www.ehow.com/about_5395031_history-risotto.html

Valerius, a young apprentice, is believed to be the creator of risotto. In 1574, he was put in charge of making the stained-glass window that was to adorn the Cathedral Duomo Di Milano. While he worked, many of the townspeople made fun of him, giving credit to the herb saffron for the beautiful colors showcased in his artwork. 

As a result, Valerius became angry and devised a plan of retaliation. During his master's wedding, he added an excessive amount of saffron to the rice being served as the main dish. He hoped his action would ruin the festivities, but instead the rice received great reviews, launching risotto into culinary fame.

Many people feel risotto is intimidating, but it is all in the technique. If you can stir and watch a pot, you have all the skills necessary to make excellent risotto every time.

Risotto with Shrimp and Portobellos

Prep: 10 min  | Cook 30 min  |  Serves 4

Plated and ready to enjoy!

1 lb shrimp, medium or large

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

8 cups chicken stock

1 cup white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb portobello mushrooms (or crimini), chopped

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

4-6 garlic cloves, chopped

salt and pepper

Clean the shrimp and set aside. Heat the stock in a saucepan to boiling, reduce the heat and keep warm.

Ensure you have your cell phone close at hand, or if not, ignore your land line, as this needs constant tending. Seriously.

Step 1. Sauté onions and mushrooms

Heat the oil in a wide saucepan. When hot add the onions and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. They do not have to be browned. Add in the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and sauté for a further minute. Sautéing the rice in this manner seals the surface of the rice and allows for a slower release of the starch when cooking.

Sauté rice before adding liquid.

Add in the 1 cup of wine and sauté, stirring constantly, until almost completely evaporated. Add in the chicken stock, a ladle full or two at a time. The level of stock should just come up to the top of the rice and it will bubble. 

Let the stock level reduce to very low before each addition of more stock. Continue stirring so the rice does not catch to the bottom of the pan.

Continue in this manner until the rice is just before “al dente, which is having a bit of resistance when bitten. This should take about 15 minutes. The rice should not be crunchy, but still resist a bit. Also check for salt, although chicken stock can be quite salty, so be careful.

Add stock a little at a time.

Add in more chicken stock and the shrimp. Let the stock reduce and the shrimp cook until just pink. Do not overcook the shrimp or they will be tough.

Add in the cheese, and pepper to taste. Stir until the cheese is incorporated. There should be very little “sauce” remaining, just enough for each grain to be surrounded by just a bit of liquid.

Serve immediately with crusty bread.

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Recipe & Ingredient of the Day: Beta Vulgaris - the Underestimated Beet!

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. – Harriet Van Horne

Photo: Lisa Norwood, Flickr ccl

Beets are an under utilized vegetable in my opinion. They seem to have developed a bad rap over the years. Perhaps it’s because of their sometimes strong flavour, or that they have the tendency to turn your “ablutions” red the next day. Beets are delicious when roasted, are full of vitamins and minerals, and you eat not only the root but also the leaves.

Think about that the next time you're buying overpriced greens at the grocery store.

A fantastic recipe follows that combines a delicious risotto with beet roots, gorgonzola cheese and walnuts. It’s not difficult at all to make risotto. Just don’t answer the phone or door while you’re doing it. You need to tend the pot. This is an absolutely stunning, and unusual, dish.

The recipe is a favourite of mine from Food.com. It was posted by libbysnax on October 08, 2006. I thank her for it.

About Beets

Beets (beta vulgaris) are a member of the order of flowering plants called Caryophyllales, which also includes bougainvillea, cacti, amaranth, carnations, spinach, and venus fly traps. Swiss Chard is a “bottomless beet.”

Photo: Wiki Commons

Red beets get their colour from a pigment called "betalain." Betalain is also responsible for the red colour of bougainvillea, amaranth and several other red vegetables.

Modern beets are derived from wild sea beets that originated around the coasts of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Around 800 BC, an Assyrian writer described beets growing in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Since the 16th century, beet juice has been used as a natural red dye and also a hair colouring.

Commercial cultivation of sugar beets began in the 1800s in France and Belgium. Sugar beets are about 20% sugar while beets or beetroot are usually no more than 10% sugar. One cup of beets contains about 75 calories.

Today there are several varieties of commercially grown beets. The most common in the United States is the Red Ace. Other beets gaining revived prominence are “fancy” varieties such as white, yellow, or even striped. Note, when cooked, the striped beets tend to loose their distinctive colouring, so are best to use fresh in salads where their colouring can be enjoyed.

A word of warning, some people are susceptible to "beeturia," which is the colouring of urine and stools after eating beets. Don't be shocked. It is completely harmless.

Beet Risotto With Walnuts and Gorgonzola Cheese

Prep: 10 mins  |  Total: 45 mins

Original recipe can be found at http://www.food.com/recipe/beet-risotto-with-walnuts-and-gorgonzola-cheese-189712#ixzz1Fj7DEDyR

To avoid a completely pink risotto, gently fold in beets.
This obviously was not... Photo: savemejebus, Flickr ccl

1 bunch beets (3 to 4, or you can used canned beets)

5 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

4 -5 ounces gorgonzola

1/2 cup walnuts

Remove stems and scrub clean 1 bunch beets. (Keep the tops to serve as a green, either with the risotto or at another time. – D) Steam beets until tender, run under water, and then slip the skins. When cool, chop the beets into 3/4 inch cubes; you should have about 2 cups.

In a small pan bring 5 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable stock to a near boil with 1 tsp sea salt.

In a large pan over medium heat, warm 2 tbs olive oil with 1 tbs butter. Add in the onion and garlic.. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cup Arborio rice, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup stock and stir constantly until liquid is absorbed. Slowly add more stock as the liquid is absorbed, a little at a time. It should take about 20 minutes in all.

Before the last ladle of stock is added, stir in the crumbled Gorgonzola and walnuts.

After the last bit of liquid is absorbed, add the chopped beets. Let risotto stand 5 minutes before serving.

Docaitta note - If you don’t want the entire dish to be pink, fold in the beets just until distributed. Some colour will run, but it won’t be lurid pink – if that’s a bad thing…

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