Risotto With Fennel Vodka Recipe 415

FENNEL RISOTTO WITH RICOTTA AND DRIED CHILLI (RISOTTO AI FINOCCHI CON RICOTTA E PEPERONCINO)

Steps:

• To me, fennel is a really tasty, classy and under-used vegetable. It works really well with the ricotta in this recipe and has a fantastic sweetness. Please don't buy the crappy ricotta that a lot of the supermarkets have - make sure it's light and crumbly and, if you're out of luck, a fresh goat's cheese is pretty damn good too.
• Put your fennel seeds into a pestle and mortar and bash up to a powder. Get a wide, hot saucepan, add a couple of splashes of olive oil and fry the garlic until softened, then add the bashed fennel seeds and sliced fennel. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and turn down to a medium-low heat. Place a lid on the pan and cook nice and slowly for around 20 minutes, until the fennel's soft and sweet.
• Start the risotto bianco as usual and continue through the recipe until the rice is half cooked. Half-way through Stage 3, stir in the sautéd fennel, then keep cooking the risotto until the rice is perfectly cooked.
• Bash up the dried chillies in the pestle and mortar until you have a fine powder. At Stage 4, when you add the butter and Parmesan, add the crumbled ricotta and lemon zest. Check the seasoning carefully and balance the flavour with as much lemon juice as you feel it needs to work with the fennel. Divide between your plates, sprinkle over your fennel tops and dust with the ground chilli. Grate over some fresh Parmesan at the table.

RISOTTO WITH FENNEL & VODKA RECIPE - (4.1/5)

Steps:

• Remove and discard outer leaves of fennel bulbs and finely chop bulbs. Chop fennel tops and reserve. Use a mortar and pestle to crush garlic, chilies, fennel seeds and 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, forming a paste. In a medium-size, nonreactive bowl, mix together vodka, lemon juice and chopped fennel tops. Set aside to macerate. In a medium stockpot, bring broth to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt half of butter along with oil. Add onions and sweat 2 minutes. Add fennel seed paste and stir to combine. Add chopped fennel bulb and cook, stirring, until soft, 7 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Start adding broth, one ladle at a time. Stir continuously, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed by rice before adding the next. Continue until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining butter, fennel-vodka mixture and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

FENNEL RISOTTO

Steps:

• Cut the base off of the fennel bulbs, and cut a cone shape into the base to remove the core. Slice the fennel vertically (lengthwise) into 1/4 inch thick slices.
• Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium heat. Cook onions and fennel in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in the rice; cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted. Stir in 1 cup vegetable broth; continue stirring until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Repeat this process with remaining broth, stirring constantly. Incorporating the broth should take 15 to 20 minutes in all.
• Stir in cream, 3 tablespoons Parmesan and parsley, and cook until rice is done and risotto is thick and creamy. Season to taste with black pepper. Divide risotto among 6 bowls, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

FARRO RISOTTO WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Pulse 1 cup farro in a blender until about half is broken into smaller pieces. Cook 1 chopped shallot and 1 chopped small fennel bulb in 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, 5 minutes. Stir in the farro and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Add 4 cups water; bring to a simmer. Cook until the farro is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup grated parmesan and 2 tablespoons mascarpone; season with salt and pepper. Top with shaved parmesan and chopped fennel fronds.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND FENNEL RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. When butter is melted, add sliced onion and fennel and stir until coated. Cover the pan and cook slowly until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and sugar. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently until onions are dark brown, about 25-30 minutes.
• Simmer broth in a separate pot on the stove.
• To the onions and fennel, add garlic, Arborio rice and herbs. Cook, stirring frequently until the rice is translucent around the edges, about 3 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring frequently, until fully absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. When the wine is fully absorbed, add 2 cups hot broth and simmer, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes until liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Stir in another 1/2 cup of hot broth and cook, stirring constantly until absorbed. Repeat with additional broth 2 or 3 more times, until rice is al dente. Remove risotto from heat and stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and Parmesan. Serve.

ROAST FENNEL RISOTTO

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
• Sweat the onion in the oil till softening then add the garlic, fennel seeds and herbs and sweat for a further two minutes.
• Add the rice (and saffron, if using), stirring to coat with oil, then the wine or vermouth.
• Stir till almost absorbed, then begin adding stock, about a ladle (¼ pint) at a time, stirring regularly till almost absorbed.
• Meanwhile, toss the fennel in the olive oil and a little seasoning and place in a roasting tin in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until just cooked.
• Continue adding all the stock to the rice as described until used up and the rice feels cooked.
• Season to taste, perhaps erring on the side of caution.
• At this point, add the roasted fennel, along with the margarine and Parmazano and stir through till melted and incorporated.
• Check seasoning again - it'll probably be OK now - and serve on warm plates, passing pepper and more Parmazano.

EASY SAUSAGE & FENNEL RISOTTO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and fennel and fry for 10 mins or until softened. Raise the heat. Squeeze the sausagemeat out of the skins straight into the pan and fry for 5 mins, or until turning golden brown. Stir through the fennel seeds, garlic and thyme and fry for a further minute.
• Tip in the rice and fry for 1 min. Pour the wine into the pan and boil the liquid until reduced by half. Add half the stock and cook until absorbed, stirring constantly. Add the remaining stock, a ladleful at a time, and cook until al dente and not too thick in consistency, stirring constantly for 20-25 mins. Season with black pepper.
• Stir through the cheese and lemon, then spoon into four bowls and scatter over the extra thyme leaves to finish.

SHRIMP AND FENNEL RISOTTO

Steps:

• Peel and devein shrimp. Halve shrimp lengthwise and in a bowl season with salt. Finely chop onion. Trim fennel stalks flush with bulb, reserving fronds and discarding stalks, and trim any discolored outer layers. Halve bulb lengthwise and discard core. Finely chop bulb. Finely chop enough reserved fronds to measure about 2 tablespoons.
• In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan bring broth and water to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.
• In a 2-quart heavy saucepan cook onion and fennel bulb in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add rice and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Increase heat to moderate and add wine. Cook mixture, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup simmering broth and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a strong simmer, until broth is absorbed. Continue cooking and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, 18 to 20 minutes total. (There will be broth left over.)
• Stir shrimp into risotto and cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes. If desired, thin risotto to desired consistency with some leftover broth.
• Stir in fennel fronds if using and salt and pepper to taste and serve risotto immediately.

FENNEL & LEMON RISOTTO

Steps:

• Chop any green leafy fennel fronds and set aside. Cut off the stalk-like fennel top, remove the outer layers and finely chop both. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan and cook the onion, garlic and chopped fennel until soft but not coloured.
• Add the rice and stir for 1 min. Pour over most of the wine and simmer until evaporated. Add 500ml of the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring between each addition until it is absorbed.
• Meanwhile, slice remaining fennel and fry in knob of butter until browned. Add remaining stock and wine and cook until tender.
• When the rice is cooked, stir in the zest, Parmesan and some seasoning. Take off the heat and set aside, covered, for 2 mins. Serve in bowls, topped with the fennel fronds and cooked fennel, stirring the prawns through if using.