Thursday, March 31, 2005
Gastronomy lessons in Oz (II)
Today was my first attempt at risotto. I grilled slabs of salmon fillet with a mustard, honey and herb mix for 20 minutes. Then it was 45 minutes or so of stirring in ladleful after ladleful of chicken and herb stock into the arborio rice. Stir and stir while fretting over the danger of burning the rice in the saucepan. As the rice got thicker and creamier, it also got heavier and I was feeling the ache of preparing risotto from scratch as compared to taking a five minute walk down Lygon and popping in one of the restaurants for the real deal.I felt terribly generous with the herb portions and emptied a sizeable amount of fresh dill, chives and parsley into the rice, at the same time feeling really tempted to dash dried basil in. I kept on thinking to myself 'Its not green enough! Not green enough!' Thankfully thought didn't translate into action because the risotto was herby enough.
Salmon was placed on the herb risotto and served with rocket topped with olives and char-grilled mushrooms. I learnt a few things though: arugula tastes awfully bitter if kept for more than a week in the fridge; and I have to find uses for the hideous amounts of herbs (yeah even if they were the cheapest ingredient in the meal) left behind.
Otherwise with no burnt rice and a decent creamy texture, I'll give myself a small pat on my back. +>
lux at 8:40 pm