broccoli risotto with tarragon and lemon.

Ah, Friday. We do all our grocery shopping on Sundays, so towards the end of the week, we start clearing out the fridge to make way for the fresh stuff. Now that we're fiends for making our own stock, we keep all the ingredients on hand in case we want to throw some together. Today I noticed I had some medium-floppy celery, 2 random carrots, and some other stuff rolling around, so I tossed together a quick batch of veggie stock. I chopped up a couple of onions, the carrots and celery, an old shallot, smashed up some garlic, and threw in a couple of parmesan rinds. I covered it all in my big stock pot with 8 cups of water, tossed in a couple of bay leaves and called it good for about 3 hours. After I strained and jarred it, I stared at the concoction thinking, "what can I do with this tonight?" The only vegetable I had left in my fridge was a massive bag of broccoli, bought when it was on sale last weekend. It was still in pretty good shape, and a cursory glance around the kitchen showed that I had almost all the ingredients in place for a risotto!



I did have to run to the market for a couple of things- tarragon, a teeny bit more of parmesan, a new onion since I used all the old ones in the stock. Luckily, the market near my house has fresh herbs in bulk, so I managed to come away spending just about 5 bucks for herbs, onion, shallot, and a small hunk of cheese.

Last time I blogged about risotto, I freely admitted I'd never made it myself. Now I am pleased to say that I can whip out a batch as delicious as my husband's, for sure.

A quick google search for "broccoli risotto" (god bless you, google) and I was on my way. Knowing that my husband loves tarragon and the light flavor of lemon, (sorry, I think I'm secretly a 1960's housewife, sans valium. Though, I could go for some valium. Do you have some valium?) this recipe seemed like the perfect one. The portions are ridiculous though, so I halved the recipe (mostly because my 8 cups of water reduced to only about 3 cups of stock!) and it was still enough to fill us both up (with a side salad)- plus my toddler.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

3 cups homemade vegetable broth (chicken would work nicely.)
2 large heads of broccoli, chopped into small pieces. (discard stems.)
some olive oil
about a tablespoon of butter
1 medium onion, diced
salt and pepper
3/4 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1/4 cup dry white wine (ah, good ol' 3 buck chuck.)
a handful of finely grated parmesan cheese
palmful of finely chopped tarragon leaves
pinch of lemon zest

And the instructions exactly as I followed them:

1. Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and keep the broth hot. Cut the broccoli into small florets, and prep the onion.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat in the sauté pan. When the butter and oil are hot, add the broccoli. Leave it alone to brown for 2 minutes, then remove it to a plate.

3. Add the onion to the same pan and season it with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook the onion, stirring often, until it's translucent but not brown, 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated with the onions. Cook, stirring once or twice, until the rice turns opaque, 2-4 minutes.

4. Add the white wine and enough of the simmering broth to cover the rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly evaporated and absorbed. Keep adding the broth, 1/2 cup or so at a time, until the rice starts to turn tender, about 10 minutes.

5. Stir in the broccoli. Continue adding the broth, letting it absorb each time, until the rice is creamy but al dente, another 10-12 minutes.

6. Stir in the parmesan, tarragon, lemon zest, and remaining tablespoon of butter and black pepper to taste.





So, this was my very first official risotto. I beg you to make your own stock for this, why not? It is super easy, and Jason and I both agree that it makes all the difference in the depth of flavor. I mean, basically all you're eating is lightly seasoned rice with a whole lot of stock, so why bother with the crap in a box? I know, not everybody has 3 hours in the middle of the day. But hey, stay at home moms! Make some stock.