Monthly Archives: July 2018

Spinach and Tallegio Risotto

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Spinach and Tallegio risotto

I love the funkiness and creaminess of tallegio – especially in grilled cheese so this recipe intrigued me immediately. It’s simply marvelous, the spinach, arborio rice and tallegio blend into a rich unctuous almost fondue like creaminess while still being fresh and green and summery

The recipe is modified from the Melissa Clark recipe linked below which is also modified from a River Cafe cookbook recipe.

Wilt 10 oz of spinach (one large container) in one tablespoon butter on the stove. Purée it with some salt and set it aside.

Use the same pan and sweat together 1 medium chopped onion, 3 cups celery, 3 cloves garlic with 5 tbsp of butter for around 10 min on medium heat. Don’t brown them and yes the quantities are correct and necessary.

Add 1.5 cups unrinsed arborio rice and roast till all the water is soaked up and the rice starts getting toasty pale brown (5 min)

Add ¾ cup of white wine (serve the rest of the bottle with the dish or drink it while cooking). Cook till the wine is all absorbed

You remembered to warm up a quart of vegetable stock right. The traditional method is to add a ladleful at a time as it’s absorbed while continuously stirring. I add the liquid all at once and stir every 3-5 minutes (serious eats did a blog post on this- the risotto is just as good). Add more hot stock if needed. Season with salt.

20 min later- the rice should be creamy and cooked. Add the spinach purée and 8 oz of tallegio (take the rind off with a knife and break the cheese into pieces – try not to eat all the cheese before it goes into the risotto) . Stir till cheese melted! This is a superlative recipe! It’s a keeper

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/dining/river-cafe-risotto-recipe.html

Kung Pao Tofu

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When David Leibovitz recommends a recipe it’s generally fabulous. I followed the recipe pretty exactly except I used regular peppercorns in place of Sichuan peppercorns

It’s very good!!

https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2018/07/kung-pao-tofu-recipe.html

Here is the recipe

Kung Pao Tofu

author andrea nguyen

yield 4 servings

Ingredients

14 to 16 ounces extra-firm tofu

Rounded ½ teaspoon salt

3 to 4 tablespoon canola oil, divided

2/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Seasoning sauce 1

2 ½ teaspoons regular soy sauce

1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

Seasoning sauce 2

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar, or 1 tablespoon balsamic and 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon water

1 ½ teaspoons regular soy sauce

1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, or ½ teaspoon regular soy sauce plus ½ teaspoon molasses

1 ¼ teaspoons toasted sesame oil

8 dried red chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise with scissors, seeds discarded

1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns

Rounded 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Rounded 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

White part of 4 large green onions, cut to match size of peanuts

Green part of 1 large green onion, cut to match size of peanuts

Instructions

Cut the tofu into thumb nail-size cubes (each about ¾ inch). Sprinkle on the salt and gently toss to coat. Spread out on 2 layers of paper towel and let drain for 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high or high heat. When barely shimmering, add the tofu (work in batches, if needed), then cook for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing and stirring to sear and lightly brown the tofu. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat until bead of water evaporates in 2 to 3 seconds. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and the peanuts, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant; take care not to burn them. Use a slotted spoon to transfer peanuts to small plate, leaving excess oil behind.

Stir together the ingredients for each of the seasoning sauces, keeping them separate. Set near the stove with the remaining ingredients from dried red chiles down to the green onion.

Reheat the wok or skillet over high heat. Add the chiles and Sichuan peppercorns. Stir briskly for 20 seconds, until aromatic and crisp. Add the tofu, give things a stir, then splash in seasoning sauce 1. Let the tofu absorb the seasonings, then add the garlic, ginger and white scallion parts. Stir-fry for 1 minute more to cook through and become aromatic.

Give seasoning sauce 2 one last stir, then add to wok. When sauce is thick and coats things, about 30 seconds, return the peanuts and add cut green scallion parts. Stir, transfer to a plate, and serve.

courses main

cuisine chinese