Making risotto II
Risotto is one of those dishes I never get tired of. I must have tried cooking it in 100 different ways already, yet it always tastes uniquely. It makes a perfect lunch or dinner, offering endless combinations of ingredients. I already shared one of my recipes with you once last year and the one I want to present today, is a kind of upgraded and slightly changed version of it so now you can check whether I’ve improved from the last time or not. 
Well, this time I made the broth myself, using chicken thighs with skin combined with some vegetables and spices. In this broth I cooked the rice, topped it with cacciocavallo cheese (sheep cheese of Italian or Bulgarian origins) and gratinated it in oven. Simple. I could have used the classic beef broth however, but let me explain you briefly, why this for me wasn’t so much of an option.
The beef soup stereotype
One thing is certain: Slovenes are crazy about beef soup. Why? I do not really know. But this soup has always been present in our lives, and by tradition it is cooked for Sunday’s lunch along with baked potato, chops (pork usually) or Wiener Schnitzel, a bowl of lettuce and desert, strudl or something of this kind. In my family, at least, we were always stuck with “the tradition”. The soup was usually boiling on the kitchen stove at 8 or 9am already, hence nobody used to stay in bed a bit later on Sundays (as normal people would do).
Imagine this procedure every Sunday of your life. They never got bored of it. But I did! And so, moving to Ljubljana some months ago liberated me from this routine and I promised to myself not to cook/eat beef soup for a really long time. Of course, I cannot expect my family to understand this strange behaviour of mine.
Imagine this procedure every Sunday of your life. They never got bored of it. But I did! And so, moving to Ljubljana some months ago liberated me from this routine and I promised to myself not to cook/eat beef soup for a really long time. Of course, I cannot expect my family to understand this strange behaviour of mine.
A routine phone call with my mum on Friday:
Me, explaining proudly the variety of dishes I make every day…
Mum, ignoring my words: You poor thing, now that you have to cook yourself, you must be really missing the real traditional Slovene food… Why don’t you come on Sunday to have lunch together, like in good old times? A plate of hot beef soup and some potatoes baked together with juicy chops (…) You never cook beef soup anymore, right? That is not good, why do you turn your nose up to our Slovene food … ??
Me: (sigh) But I told you I don’t feel like eating the beef s….
Mum: But why are you suddenly so much against our food?
Me: … (praying for someone to ring the door bell and save me)
Mum, ignoring my words: You poor thing, now that you have to cook yourself, you must be really missing the real traditional Slovene food… Why don’t you come on Sunday to have lunch together, like in good old times? A plate of hot beef soup and some potatoes baked together with juicy chops (…) You never cook beef soup anymore, right? That is not good, why do you turn your nose up to our Slovene food … ??
Me: (sigh) But I told you I don’t feel like eating the beef s….
Mum: But why are you suddenly so much against our food?
Me: … (praying for someone to ring the door bell and save me)
And so, stubborn as I am, keep on cooking whatever I want to, experimenting with ingredients – quite succesfully, I might add. Although the word experiment might not sound too promising…
Disablez: What’s in for today’s menu?
Me: Er… something very tasty! The newest experiment of mine…but I assure you you’re going to like it!
Disablez: Uh oh…
Yet most of my attempts end up with good result. The chicken broth I decided to make this time was certanly not an experiment, yet it wasn’t something I would make often.
As I’ve never used before the leaves of carrots for cooking, I decided to try them this time, hence I purchased an inviting bunch of carrots from the local organic grocery that morning. For a more intense taste, I didn’t remove the skin from the chicken for making the broth. Besides the classic vegetables that can’t be missing in a broth, I added in some coriander and ginger for a bit of lemony flavour which turned out to be a good step.
As I’ve never used before the leaves of carrots for cooking, I decided to try them this time, hence I purchased an inviting bunch of carrots from the local organic grocery that morning. For a more intense taste, I didn’t remove the skin from the chicken for making the broth. Besides the classic vegetables that can’t be missing in a broth, I added in some coriander and ginger for a bit of lemony flavour which turned out to be a good step.
The ingredients I used for the broth:
- 2 chicken tighs (with skin)
- a dash of each: ground nutmeg, cumin and pepper for spicing the chicken
- 2 carrots + greenery
- half an onion, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tomato, chopped in two halves
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dry basil
- 1cm ginger root, finely chopped
- salt
- 1.5l water
Wash the chicken thighs and dry them using the kitchen paper. Sprinkle with nutmeg, cumin and pepper and place in the bottom of a large pot in which you will cook the broth.
Wash and clean the carrots, tomato, skin the garlic and slice the onion. Place the vegetables onto the chicken and cover with the sprigs of carrot greenery.
Add all the spices -be careful with salt as you can add more later on- and pour a litre and a half of water on it. That will make enough broth for risotto and more for the next day’s soup or another dish, if you prefer.
Now, it is important to reduce the heat to the minimum level once the water starts boiling, otherwise most of the broth will evaporate – and we do not want that -. So cover the pot with the lid (but not completely) and check the broth regularly. Let it simmer for 45 mins or so, then remove the chicken and carrots and filter the broth. Keep.
At this point remove the skin from the chicken thighs, slice the meat and chop the carrots. Keep.
Wash and clean the carrots, tomato, skin the garlic and slice the onion. Place the vegetables onto the chicken and cover with the sprigs of carrot greenery.
Add all the spices -be careful with salt as you can add more later on- and pour a litre and a half of water on it. That will make enough broth for risotto and more for the next day’s soup or another dish, if you prefer.
Now, it is important to reduce the heat to the minimum level once the water starts boiling, otherwise most of the broth will evaporate – and we do not want that -. So cover the pot with the lid (but not completely) and check the broth regularly. Let it simmer for 45 mins or so, then remove the chicken and carrots and filter the broth. Keep.
At this point remove the skin from the chicken thighs, slice the meat and chop the carrots. Keep.
For risotto:
(2 people)
- 250g rice (I used basmati, my favourite)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 80g frozen green peas
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 150g cacciocavallo cheese (or other sheep/goat cheese if you prefer)
- chicken+carrots+1/3 of the broth
- additional salt (if necessary)
Start by heating the olive oil in a risotto pan, then add the green peas, carrots and chicken and sautée for about 3 mins.
Wash the rice in a pot until the water turns out clean. Strain well and add to the rest of sautéed ingredients. Stir well and cover with broth. Let simmer gently until the broth is absorbed. Do not stir it in the meantime.
Wash the rice in a pot until the water turns out clean. Strain well and add to the rest of sautéed ingredients. Stir well and cover with broth. Let simmer gently until the broth is absorbed. Do not stir it in the meantime.
Once the risotto is cooked, spread some grated cheese on it, sprinkle it with extra oregano if you like it, and place the pan into the preheated oven at 180°C. Bake until the cheese gets a nice golden colour.
Serve preferably warm and enjoy!
