Scallop Risotto

North Americans often complain about how arduous it is to make risotto. “All that stirring!” is a common refrain I hear. In our hectic modern lives, I think we’ve lost sight of the pleasures that can be derived from preparing food.

Many of us do not even realize that the things we eat now were much harder to make before modern innovation. For example, Irish or steel-cut oats require 15-30 minutes to prepare instead of the 2 minutes it takes to make quick oats in the microwave. The same is true for instant rice. Many young people probably consider using cake mixes and frozen cookie batter as authentic baking, not realizing that traditionally all these things were made from scratch.

In this context, stirring risotto for 20 minutes can seem like a lifetime. However, having recently served it, I was reminded that it really is not as difficult as it seems. This scallop risotto is a perfect summer dish. To learn more about scallops see another recipe from last summer; to learn more about risotto see a winter version here.


Ingredients
Risotto
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups pumpkin flesh, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (do not use canned pumpkin)
1 cup broccoli florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic or garlic paste
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (about 10 ounces)
1/4 to 1/2 Parmesan cheese, grated

Scallops
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to season
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 to 2lbs scallops

Directions
1. In a medium pot, warm stock until simmering.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add pumpkin and sauté for five minutes. Then add broccoli and continue cooking for until five minutes until pumpkin is slightly soft. Set aside.
3. In the same pot, heat olive oil and garlic. Once fragrant, sauté onion until translucent (after 10 minutes).
4. Add Arborio rice and stir until coated with oil.
5. Add 1/2 cup warm broth and stir gently until it is all absorbed. Continue adding spoonfuls of broth and stirring until absorbed.
6. After 15 minutes add pumpkin and broccoli.
7. Continue adding broth until the rice is tender but still al dente. You may have stock remaining.
8. Finish with Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
9. Pat scallops dry with a paper towel.
10. Season scallops with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
11. In a large skillet on medium high, heat olive oil. Sauté scallops for 2-3 minutes on each side.
12. Plate risotto and top with scallops.

Fruit and Nut Oatmeal Cookies

After a very busy spring, this weekend I finally had the chance to experiment in the kitchen. I produced another oatmeal cookie recipe for this blog.

To read more about oatmeal, see my first recipe. That one makes dense, crunchy, super sweet, chocolately cookies. This one produces soft, spicy and light treats which contain half the butter!

These cookies are fragrant and flavorful because of the cinnamon and cardamom. Feel free to use any type of dried fruits or nuts, though I would stay away from walnuts which can be a touch bitter.


Makes 30

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup applesauce
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a small bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamom.
3. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar for 4 minutes until fluffy.
4. Add applesauce and beat on low speed. Add flour mixture and continue to beat.
5. Add oats, cranberries, cherries and pecans and mix with a spatula.
6. Refrigerate the batter for at least one hour.
7. On a large, ungreased baking sheet drop heaping tablespoons of batter. Flatten with a spoon.
8. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Can be frozen for up to three months.

Seven Layer Cookies

My friend Lauren recently told me about a seven layer cookie that she makes, and I was immediately mystified. It turns out it neither has seven layers nor is a cookie; however, it has seven ingredients which I assume were originally put down in layers. The seven layer cookie (also known as ‘magic bars’) belongs to the genre of confections that – like Rice Krispies treats and confetti marshmallow squares – are tooth-achingly sweet, rely heavily on processed ingredients, and are forgiving for amateur cooks. Other hallmarks of this form include no-bake cakes and pies, ambrosia and s'mores. The origin of such recipes is unclear – I suspect it’s a combination of the desire for instant gratification and corporations inventing new ways to market their products.

Seven layer cookies are popular at Christmastime. I also found an eleven layer version that includes dark chocolate chips, miniature marshmallows, toffee chips and dulce de leche. This recipe should not be confused with the more sophisticated Venetian seven layer cookie (often called rainbow cookie) which is a sandwich of three multicolored, almond-flavored sponge cakes separated by apricot jam and covered with chocolate. In contrast to its American namesake, the Italian version is massively labor-intensive so you’re unlikely to see it on this blog anytime soon.

Makes 32 bars

1 stick unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 pound semisweet chocolate chips
1 pound butterscotch chips
12 ounces walnuts or pecans, chopped
12 ounces shredded, desiccated coconut (unsweetened if available)
20 ounces sweetened condensed milk (do not use evaporated milk)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Mix in graham cracker crumbs, and press mixture along the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass Pyrex dish.
3. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. In a large bowl use a spatula to mix chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts and coconut. Pour evenly over crust.
5. Carefully drizzle condensed milk over mixture, making sure to spread evenly.
6. Return to the oven and bake for a further 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and fragrant.
7. Remove from the oven and cool for several hours. Cut into small pieces.
8. Cookies can be stored in the fridge for one month or in the freezer for six months. Frozen cookies are best served slightly reheated in the microwave with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Baked Cod with Roasted Vegetables

Those of you who read this blog frequently know how much I love to bake. My passion for this method of food preparation is not only based on my predilection for cookies, pies and cakes. Baking also provides a controlled and predictable method of preparation that is conducive to entertaining.

Some dishes are decidedly difficult to make for guests. If you’ve ever tried to prepare risotto for a crowd, you’re familiar with the challenges of “entertaining while stirring”. Of course one can make a dish in advance (a curry, chili or soup for example) but reheating can present its own challenges (overheating or underheating) and it often requires attention soon after your guests have arrived. For a dinner party, one is often preparing several dishes at once and ensuring that all items are at the right temperature just before serving can be a mighty challenge even for an experienced cook.

For all these reasons, I appreciate baked entrees. They come out of the oven hot, require minimal handling, and fill the house with a delicious aroma. Some of my favorite baked entrees include lasagna, frittata, pizza and stuffed vegetables. While all of these make lovely meals, my fiancé and I have been searching for more ‘sophisticated’ baked entrées to serve to dinner guests.

We especially like to serve fish for dinner, but have had less than ideal experiences grilling fish on our George Foreman Grill or searing scallops in a skillet. They have both created fishy smoke in our poorly ventilated Manhattan apartment. Having experimented with a few baked fish recipes, we came up with this one which we recently served to our friends Andrew and Andrew.


Serves 4

1 head of garlic, peeled
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced or baby carrots
1 zucchini, sliced
1 or 2 red peppers, sliced into strips
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into eighths
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cod or hake fillets (approximately 2 lbs total) - you can substitute another light, white fish
salt and pepper, to taste
1 bunch parsley for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, toss first five ingredients with most of the olive oil.
3. On the middle rack, bake vegetables for 30-40 minutes until slightly roasted.
4. Place fish fillets on top of vegetables and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.


5. Return dish to oven for 20-30 more minutes.
6. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.