Winter recipes

A few followers have asked me to translate the recipes so there' s one of them; I took it from a website and checked if it is correct and added and changed a few things, but it looks authentic. Of course the choice of risotto rice is personal, arborio is good but vialone nano or carnaroli can be used if you prefer. Just experiment...there is no right or wrong!

Risotto al radicchio

This is a creamy bitter sweet risotto that comes form the region of Veneto and Lombardia - precisely the story goes that Venice once had power over parts of Lombardia and the bad thing were the wars and the good things were the  imported art and cuisine!

I was born in Bergamo, Lombardia and have fond memories of my first visit as a young woman and fell in love with the city then. Also my auntie lived in Treviso, near Venezia, when I was a little girl I remember eating sedano and finocchio col mascarpone fresco! Celeri and Fennel with mascarpone cheese, a little bread and perhaps soup was a sophisticated northen supper for me, when I visited my cousins up north, coming from Rome, where it is more usual to have pecorino or mozzarella and salad. Mascarpone is the clotted cornish cream of Italy. of course guaranteed to clot your veins too but once or twice a year is ok...I haven't had it for ages...now I am thinking about it...

The bitter edge of radicchio is cooked off a bit in this risotto, but the primary flavor does involve the sophisticated slightly bitter flavor one expects in chicories, endives, and radicchio. The optional addition of blue cheese ups the bitter factor, making for a very intense flavor. For less excitement, use marscapone or cream cheese.

There is a dairy free/macrobiotic version were you can add olive oil and almond butter at the end, but to be honest with you I don't have proper Italian risotto that often (about once a month or less) so a bit of the real thing doesn't hurt!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 head radicchio (long Treviso or round Chioggia)
• 1 small onion or a couple of shallots
• 5 cups  vegetable broth or bouillon ( Marigold)
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt plus more to taste
• 2 cups Arborio rice- or another risotto rice of your choice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine- even Prosecco if you dare!
• 3/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup marscapone, cream cheese, or crumbled soft, milk blue cheese like gorgonzola
• Minced flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cut off stem end of radicchio and remove any damaged outer leaves. Halve and thinly slice radicchio and rinse clean. Set aside.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add chopped onion, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add radicchio and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Add aborio rice and stir to combine thoroughly and to ensure that each grain of rice is coated with butter.
6. Add white wine and cook, stirring, until liquid is absorbed. Add 1 cup of the broth and cook, stirring, until liquid is absorbed. Repeat with a second cup of broth. After that batch is absorbed repeat with 1/2 cups amounts until rice is tender, about 25 minutes total. You might not use up all stock...
7. Stir in parmesan cheese, reserving a bit for garnish is you like. Stir in marscapone, cream cheese, or blue cheese.
8. Serve risotto immediately, garnishing individual servings with parsley, parmesan, and black pepper as you like.
9. 
   

For the the Seitan scaloppini perhaps it is best to look at this recipe from one of the websites I sometimes browse but I must say it looks rather complicated.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/01/seitan-scaloppine-with-lemon-olive.html

 I admit to eat seitan as it is meaty but I don't miss the meat but just want to make sure I eat enough protein as a nearly vegan person (I do eat cheese sometimes, not often)the sitan I buy comes in chunks and it is from a jar in tamari. I once or twice made seitan and it is a long process and for abusy nanny and mummy not the best...I rather go for a walk or a bike ride than making seitan! It is a bit like playing Monopoli and not winning and it goes on and on and on!


Also try these seitan nuggets:
http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/Breaded-Seitan-Nuggets-8592839


bon appetit!


Susannah