There are few greater pleasures for me here in Sicily than being at home during the lunchtime and cooking up a good, creamy risotto whilst imagining the scene in the other kitchens of my street, where the women will be embarking upon a similar task. My kindly neighbours are always very concerned about whether I will cook pasta at one o'clock and if I meet any of them just before this time, they will ask if I am going to make un buon piatto di pasta. I reassure them that this is, indeed, the case and they proceed happily on their way, knowing that the world is not going to end [well, not this lunchtime, anyway].
As there are still some slices of pumpkin to be found in the shops, today I decided to make a risotto di zucca. I usually follow Carluccio's recipe as I like the addition of garlic and rosemary that he suggests. I rather unconventionally went a bit Milanese today and added saffron as I wanted it to be yellower. As I've said before, the secret of cooking a good risotto is to go away and have a drink while the rice absorbs the stock or water; then add more liquid to both your glass and the pan and repeat the process. The other secret is to add a goodly dollop of butter off the heat at the end.
16 comments:
As I've said before, the secret of cooking a good risotto is to go away and have a drink while the rice absorbs the stock or water; then add more liquid to both your glass and the pan and repeat the process.
Excellent approach and I'd love to be with you during lunchtime but suspect I might not be welcome in the lights of recent comments of mine. :)
I make risotto but never with pumpkin. What was it like?
Of course you'd be welcome, James! I've made it before and the flavours marry well, kissa. Pumpkin ravili are also popular here.
I can vouch your your mushroom risotto recipe - and I hope Geoff can too - I cooked it for him one night.
That looks so tasty. I love a good risotto :-)
That sounds wonderful and I'll take an order of that along with some ravioli. By the way, baby is here! Come by to see the announcement. :D
Thanks, Ellee, and I'm delighted to hear that. Thanks, cherrypie. Oh, Leslie, congratulations! Coming right over x
Looks good as usual Welshcakes.
I once made ravioli di zucca in a cooking lesson at Verona. It was unbelievably fiddly. Good but I'll never make it again.
Oh I love risotto - of all shapes and sizes and flavors. And pumpkin would have to be at or near the top! I love the idea about saffron and will definitely do that next time. Thanks muchly Welshcakes - delicious post :-)
Only in Italia, surely, would you have such beautiful, multicoloured, porcelaine-looking TURNIPS ~::~ of all things...
mmm...looks delicious, wish my computer screen was scratch and sniff, i bet it smells divine too! thanks for sharing WCL, I love your foodie posts ;) xo
Love risooto. Had a very good mushroom one with a piece of guinea fowl on Sunday at The Black Rat in Winchester (at least I think it was guinea fowl...)
Hi, jmb. I really must get around to making some ravioli di zucca! Thanks, mg. Hopr you enjoy it when you make it! There is something so warming, I feel, about anything flavoured with saffron. Hi, Gleds. I was waiting for someone to notice those! I think they're meant to be various small squash... Many thanks, Kyles xx Hi, WW. That sounds wonderful. Auguri a tutti
Those pretty little squashes! I would keep them in a bowl on the table just to admire them every time I walked past. Had squid and chorizo risotto last night...mmmmm.
It actually looks very yellow, how do you get that colour, that's surely the sauce?
Hi, Mopsa. Well, that's exactly what I do - I keep them in a bowl on my dining table! Hi, Crushed. That is the saffron, mostly.
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