Caramelized Leek Risotto
This risotto is out of this world good. I could eat this every night for the rest of my life and be very happy. It's creamy and sweet and buttery and cheesy.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large leek
2 cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup arborio rice
3/4 cup white wine
3-4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan
Trim off the dark green part of leek and then cut the remaining white and light green part of the leek in half lengthwise then into half moons.
Melt butter in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat, and then add in the leeks, stirring to completely coat.
Keeping the heat on medium-low, caramelize the leeks stirring every few minutes until they start to brown. It should take about 25 minutes.
Add in the arborio rice and stir to coat for 2 minutes.
Add the wine and continue stirring until most of the wine has evaporated.
Start adding the chicken stock l/2 - 3/4 cups at a time stirring often while the rice absorbs it. When the each stock addition has been absorbed, add a little more stock and stir.
Continue adding stock until the risotto is tender and creamy, but still slightly al dente.
Season with some salt and pepper to taste, and top with freshly grated romano.
Live Maine Lobster
Cooking live lobster is scary at first, Julie and Julia anyone? But it's actually not that bad. The hardest part is transporting the jumping lobster bag from the grocery and getting up the nerve to stick him in the boiling pot.
The first time I ever saw a lobster prepared was on my all time favorite cooking show, "Take Home Chef," with the gorgeous australian hunk of a chef, Curtis Stone. Oh I miss my afternoons with Curtis. His humane technique for cooking a live lobster is to first put the lobster in the freezer so that he goes into a deep sleep, so I stuck him in the deep freezer while I stirred the Risotto and got the boiling pot ready.
I steamed the lobster, rather than boiling it, because the meat is more tender and the flavor is better when it is steamed. To steam the lobster, fill a large pot with water, just up to the level of your steaming rack or colander insert, add 2 tablespoons sea salt, and turn up the heat until the water is at a rolling boil. Then simply drop in the lobster, head and claws first, cover and steam until the lobster turns bright red.
I steamed just about 9-10 minutes for a 1.75 pound lobster, and the meat was perfect. You should eat the claws, tail and maybe the legs if you can get some meat out. Avoid the inside of the body (there's some green tomalley in there and while some people find it tasty, I do not, and I stay far far away). Don't worry about the white stuff that's left in the water and covering the lobster. It's actually just lobster blood and is completely edible and flavorless.
Melt some butter and get cracking!
Congrats to you both! This dinner looks amazing! Where is a good place to get fresh lobster and seafood in G'ville? We never have much luck at Publix. Most of their stuff is previously frozen (even when the sign says otherwise) or doesn't look too fresh.. =(
ReplyDeleteThank you! The best fresh seafood in Gainesville is definitely at Northwest Seafood. They have two locations - one next to Fresh Market in Thornebrook and one in Tioga. Publix seafood is usually frozen I think, but I like using their shrimp and scallops for putting into other dishes, like a pasta. But if the seafood is the main event, I definitely prefer Northwest Seafood, even if it is a little pricier. I also like Fresh Market's selection. Their sashimi tuna and halibut were both fantastic last time I bought them there
ReplyDeleteGreat, I will check them out next time I'm around there. Thanks! =)
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