The risotto technique can be adapted to an extraordinary variety of tastes. This lemony risotto with pomegranates will be quite delicate as is, and could also benefit from just a shaving or two of fresh ginger root, added when you add the pomegranate seeds and lemon strips. It will in any case take about a half hour to do. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups (200 g) short-grained rice, for example Arborio or Vialone Nano
- A small leek
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- A lemon, preferably organically grown
- A pomegranate
- An abundant quart of simmering chicken or beef broth
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) dry white wine, warmed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A few shavings of fresh ginger root, minced (optional)
Preparation:
Seed the pomegranate and squeeze half the seeds in a potato ricer to extract their juice. Combine it with the juice of a half a lemon. Trim the zest from the lemon, cut it into thin strips, and blanch them. Pat them dry and set them aside.
Clean the leek, mince it, and sauté it until it wilts in the butter, then scoop it from the pan and set it aside. Sauté the rice in the drippings until the grains become translucent, about five minutes, then return the sautéed leek to the pan and sauté a minute more. Stir in the warmed wine and cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Next, begin to add the broth, a ladle at a time, stirring gently and adding more as it is absorbed.
Shortly before the rice is done, add the fruit juices and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divvy the risotto up into individual portions and decorate them with the reserved pomegranate seeds and strips of zest.
This would, I think, work well with a fairly sweet white wine, for example a Candia delle Apuane.
Clean the leek, mince it, and sauté it until it wilts in the butter, then scoop it from the pan and set it aside. Sauté the rice in the drippings until the grains become translucent, about five minutes, then return the sautéed leek to the pan and sauté a minute more. Stir in the warmed wine and cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Next, begin to add the broth, a ladle at a time, stirring gently and adding more as it is absorbed.
Shortly before the rice is done, add the fruit juices and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divvy the risotto up into individual portions and decorate them with the reserved pomegranate seeds and strips of zest.
This would, I think, work well with a fairly sweet white wine, for example a Candia delle Apuane.
