Courgette And Peppers Risotto Recipes

RISOTTO STUFFED PEPPERS AND ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Combine the chicken stock, 2 cups water, the orange and lemon zests and the saffron in a pot, and bring to a low simmer.
• Halve the zucchini lengthwise and gently scrape out the center flesh and seeds. Chop the center flesh and seeds and reserve. Halve each zucchini again crosswise. Arrange the zucchini and bell peppers cut-side up in a baking dish. Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a round-bottomed risotto pot or pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chopped zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 more minutes. Stir in the rice, then add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the stock mixture a few ladles at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition and allowing the liquid to mostly evaporate before adding more. The rice will take about 18 minutes to cook to al dente. In the last minute or so of cooking, stir in 1/2 cup cheese, the butter and the lemon and orange juices.
• Scoop the risotto into the vegetables.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO and 1/2 cup cheese with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the tops of the risotto filling. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake until the tops are browned, 10 to 15 more minutes. Garnish with the parsley.
• Cook's Note: If you are not serving the dish immediately, fill the vegetables with the risotto and let cool (do not bake). Cover and store in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, bake as directed.

RED PEPPER RISOTTO

Steps:

• Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan, with a ladle nearby. Season generously with salt.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, wide, heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the onions or shallots. Cook gently until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the peppers are limp and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir over medium heat until the grains are separate and beginning to crackle, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the wine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. The wine should bubble, but not too quickly. You want some of the flavor to cook into the rice before it evaporates. When the wine has just about evaporated, stir in a ladleful or two of the simmering stock (about 1/2 cup), enough to just cover the rice. The stock should bubble slowly (adjust heat accordingly). Rub the saffron threads between your fingers and add to the rice. Cook, stirring often, until the stock is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, not too fast and not too slowly, stirring often and adding more stock when the rice is almost dry, for 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through but still a little chewy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• When the rice is cooked through, add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, and stir in another half cup of stock, the Parmesan and the herbs. Remove from the heat. The rice should be creamy; if it isn't, add a little more stock. Stir once, taste and adjust seasonings, and serve.

CREAMY COURGETTE RISOTTO

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a sturdy frying pan, add the onion and gently fry until softened. Stir in the grated courgettes and rice, increase the heat and sizzle while stirring for 1-2 mins.
• Add the lemon juice and a ladle of hot stock, and bubble over a medium-high heat while stirring constantly. When the liquid has just about been absorbed, add another ladleful of stock. Keep cooking like this for 20-25 mins until the rice is just tender and is creamy. Stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone and some seasoning, cover with a lid or baking sheet, and set aside for 5 mins while you cook the remaining courgettes.
• Heat the remaining butter and a splash of oil in a small frying pan. Add the diced courgettes, and fry over a high heat for 2-3 mins until golden and just softened. Divide the risotto between shallow bowls or plates, then scatter with the diced courgettes and any buttery juices, the pine nuts and a few pinches of lemon zest.

LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN AND ZUCCHINI RISOTTO

Steps:

• Coat chicken with 2 tsp lemon pepper, salt, coriander.
• Coat zucchini lightly with oil and 1 tsp lemon pepper.
• Heat large pan on medium heat.
• Add 1/2 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp oil to pan and sauté zucchini 5-8 minutes then remove.
• Add 1/2 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp oil and cook onion 3-5 minutes.
• Add chicken and brown on both sides, then remove.
• Add remaining oil and rice, cook until clear with a small dot of white in the kernels.
• Deglaze pan with wine.
• Slowly add stock to rice 1/2 cup at a time cooking down before adding more. Cook rice until al dente.
• Add remaining butter and parmesan to rice to finish.

YELLOW PEPPER RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a skillet cook peppers in water and 2 tablespoons of butter, covered partially, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 20 minutes. Purée peppers in a food processor or blender and strain through a coarse sieve into a small bowl. Season purée with salt and pepper.
• In the cleaned skillet cook zucchini in 1 tablespoon remaining butter over moderate heat, stirring until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
• In a saucepan heat broth and keep at a bare simmer.
• In a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan cook shallot and garlic in remaining 2 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat until very soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until edges become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until wine is absorbed. Add about 1/2 cup simmering broth and cook, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, and cooking, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat and stir in pepper purée, zucchini, Parmesan, 1 tablespoon of parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle risotto with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.