Fall Risotto with Carrots and Leeks

Cold hardy carrots and leeks are still going strong in my garden. We'll pull them all out before the ground freezes, but until then they keep well in the soil and they continue to grow, albeit slowly. In this delicious risotto, carrots and leeks are sauteed in butter to bring out their sweetness, which contrasts pleasantly with salty Parmesan and pungent sage.

As usual, I always make risotto in the pressure cooker now, but feel free to adapt this to the old fashioned method.

3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup finely diced carrots
1-1 1/2 cups sliced leeks
2 Tbsp minced fresh sage leaves (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 Tbsp butter in the bottom of the pressure cooker until it melts. Add the rice and saute for a minute or so, until it turns translucent. Add the stock and stir well. Put on the lid and bring the cooker to pressure. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, then remove from heat and release pressure.

While the rice cooks, melt the remaining 2 Tbsp butter in a skillet. Add the carrots and leeks and saute until tender, 3-5 minutes. Stir in the sage.

When the rice is done and the pressure has fallen completely, open the cooker. Stir in the vegetables and the Parmesan. Taste and add salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Corn and Chanterelle Risotto

If you liked the Corn and Chanterelle Bisque I made earlier this summer, you should definitely try this risotto. My four-year-old, to my astonishment, ate five helpings of this, and my husband and I enjoyed it thoroughly as well. The chanterelles are particularly divine, but feel free to substitute other flavorful mushrooms. I pretty much always make risotto in my pressure cooker these days because it's so easy, but you can do it the old fashioned way as well.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 lb chanterelles, chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker. Add the shallot and chanterelles and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and saute over medium heat for a minute or two, until the grains turn translucent and start to toast a little bit. Add the corn and the stock and stir. Cover the pot, lock the lid, and turn the heat to high. Cook for 7 minutes from the time pressure is reached, then release pressure manually. Stir, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Fennel Scape Risotto with Sausage

Way yummy. You can skip the sausage if you want and serve the risotto as a side dish. With the sausage it's good as an entree. The instructions below are to make risotto in the pressure cooker (so easy! and good!), but you can always do it the old fashioned way if you prefer. Skip the scapes if it's the wrong season - you can add some minced garlic or another shallot as a substitute.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot (optional)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3 1/2 cups warm chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium fennel bulb, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 cup chopped garlic scapes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of the pressure cooker, then add the shallots and saute over medium-high heat for about a minute. Add the rice and saute for another 1-2 minutes, until it turns translucent and becomes fragrant. Pour in the broth, cover and lock the lid, and bring to pressure. Cook for seven minutes at high pressure, then release the pressure, let sit for a minute, and stir gently.

While the rice cooks, cook the sausage in a large skillet. When it is nicely browned, add the fennel and scapes and cook until tender.

When everything is done, combine it all and serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Winter Squash Risotto

Use whatever type of winter squash you like for this. Depending on your taste, you can dial the sweetness up or down a bit by increasing or decreasing the amount of lemon juice.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium-large shallot, minced
2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1 tsp dried sage
4 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (preferably warmed)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup cooked mashed winter squash
1 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a pressure cooker. Add the shallot and saute for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the rice and saute for another 1-2 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the sage. Add the stock, stir well, then put the cover on the cooker, lock, and bring to pressure. Cook on high pressure for 7 minutes, then release. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve hot.

Serves about 6.

Herbed Risotto with Eggplant and Peppers

For some reason, our eggplant production sort of exploded this month. Saturday I made Hunan-Style Eggplant with Bacon and Shiitake Mushrooms, Sunday I made this risotto, and I'm plotting out the rest of the week around things that contain lots of eggplant. Eggplant doesn't take that well to freezing or other methods of preservation, so we may as well gorge on it while it lasts! It will be gone with the first real frost.

This recipe makes a large batch - enough for two meals for my family. But it halves easily.

Vegetables
Olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 1/2 lbs eggplant, peeled and cut in small dice
1 lb sweet frying peppers, chopped (bell is okay)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped fresh basil

Risotto
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
3 cups uncooked Arborio rice
7 cups water or stock (chicken or vegetable)
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
Toasted pinenuts or almonds for topping (optional)

I prepared the risotto in the pressure cooker, but you can always do it the old fashioned way if you prefer. For the pressure cooker: Heat the olive oil, then add the shallot and saute over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and saute, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes more. Pour in the water or stock, close and lock the lid, and turn the heat to high. When it reaches pressure, cook for 7 minutes on high pressure, then remove from heat and release pressure. Remove the lid and stir in the goat cheese and basil.

While the risotto is cooking, saute the vegetables. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet, then add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggplant and peppers and continue to saute over medium heat until nice and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in the basil, and remove from heat.

Serve the vegetables over mounds of the risotto. Top with toasted nuts if desired.

Serves 6-8.

Risotto with Ramps and Goat Cheese

Ramps are a spring treat, harvested wild around here. This recipe uses both the bulb part and the leaves and stems, which are also flavorful. I bought a couple bunches at the farmers market last weekend (along with the goat cheese), but we probably won't see them again this time. So if you don't have access to ramps, feel free to substitute scallions or spring onions. The flavor will be a bit different but should work just as well.

These directions are for pressure cooker preparation, but feel free to adapt them to the stovetop. Quantities are the same, but you add the liquid slowly, waiting until each addition of 1/2 cup or so is absorbed before adding more.

2 Tbsp olive oil or butter
1/2 cup chopped ramp bulbs
1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
3 cups water or veggie stock (I like to use 1 veg bouillon cube)
1 1/2 cups chopped ramp stems and leaves
1 1/2 oz. goat cheese
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil or butter in your pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the ramp bulbs and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes or so until it all turns nicely translucent. Add the liquid. Put the cover on, lock it, and bring the cooker up to pressure. Cook for 7 minute at pressure, then remove from heat and release pressure.

Stir in the ramp stems and leaves, goat cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Serves 4-5.

Pressure Cooker Risotto with Sorrel and Chives

This is a lovely spring risotto. The sorrel flavor is much milder here than in the pizza, working more like an herb than a cooking green.

This was my first try at making risotto in the pressure cooker, and I will definitely do it again. So easy and fast, and with excellent results. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can of course make this on the stovetop with standard risotto technique (add the liquid 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed each time; add until rice is cooked and risotto reaches desired consistency).

Olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked arborio rice
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/3 cup minced fresh sorrel (stemmed)
1/3 cup snipped chives
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in the pressure cooker with the lid off, then add the onion. Saute for 2-3 minutes, then add the rice. Saute, stirring frequently, for another 2-3 minutes, until the rice turns translucent. Add all of the stock, cover, lock, and turn to high pressure setting. Bring to pressure, then reduce heat and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and release pressure. Stir in sorrel, chives, Parmesan, and salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.