Lemon and dill risotto

I always find risotto too sticky and rich. So, the one thing I thought to do was to cut the heaviness with a bit of citrus and dill. The results are PREFECTION! This recipe also freezes well.

Ingredients:

1 cup aborio rice
chicken stock (or stock of desired flavour. I like chicken stock flavoured with seafood)
1 bunch of dill chopped
rind of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 stalks of celery
1/2 onion diced
1 -2 tbsp butter
splash of white wine/brandy

Directions:

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes. Drain.
2. Brown diced celery and onion in butter and splash of oil. Add dill and lemon juice. When the mixture is "al dente/ browned", add splash of brandy/wine.
3. Add rice to mixture, ensuring that rice is coated in the mixture.
4. Add stock and stir the rice mixture until liquid is absorbed. Repeat this step until rice is at desired texture. Make sure to keep stirring so that rice doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Voila! This risotto is tart and great with poached salmon, shrimp/scallop, mushrooms.

Freezing/Reheat instructions: Put risotto in a glass air tight container. Thaw in room temperature and reheat in the pan with a little stock. Add shaved parmesan and stir if increased thickness is desired.

Celery Parsnip Soup

I adapted this recipe from the one from Epicurious. As you can see, it was so good, there was hardly any left when i took this picture!

I was making beef stew which called for parsnips and had a few leftover. Ditto celery...so I decided to make a good soup. Curiously enough, I've never made western soup from scratch before, so it was a shot in the dark -- and a successful one too.

I also used a "Chinese Vacuum Pot" to cook this soup instead of over the stove. Totally saved stove space and I didn't have to watch it.

Ingredients:

4 ribs celery, chopped
5 small/med parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunks (doesn't matter for soup b/c you're gonna blend it anyway)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp butter
oil for saute
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup water
splash of sherry brandy
3/4 tsp rice vinegar
1 cup of milk (skim)
pinch of black pepper

Directions:

1. Saute onions with celery in butter until softened. Approx 4 - 5 minutes. Add parsnip chunks and pepper stir for another two minutes. Deglaze with sherry and stir until liquid is absorbed.
2. Combine broth, water, rice vinegar and pour over the mixture.
3. Bring to boil then put it in the vacuum pot. Leave it overnight (or if you are in a rush, 30 minutes will do)
4. Use a hand-blender to emulsify the ingredients. Heat the mixture and stir in milk to serve.


This soup lasted 4 - 5 days in the fridge and was good till the last drop! Enjoy!