Corn and Tomato Risotto

Corn and Tomato Risotto

I am officially funemployed.  And it feels great.  And while I’m quite excited about my new job starting next Wednesday (and receiving a steady paycheck again), a couple more weeks of sleeping in, cooking, relaxing, reading, and just generally not being accountable for anything would most certainly be enjoyable…especially, extra time to cook.

I took advantage of my 15 day hiatus from the workforce to attend our annual family reunion in Cape Cod where we ate, ate, and ate until there weren’t any more buttons to loosen on our pants.  Fried clams, lobster rolls, abalones, blue fin and albacore tuna (that my relatives caught!), Boston cream pie, red velvet cupcakes — the list goes on and on.  More on this to come.  It was at this family reunion that my cousin brought up the fact that she had a hard time finding my Alinea post a couple of times and that I should add a restaurant listing page to the blog.  That, combined with a few other thoughts that I’ve had in the back of my mind, made me decide to switch this blog from Blogger to WordPress, as well as to use my own hosting service.  I’m pretty excited for the changes to come (although they will probably be more time consuming than I anticipate), but please have patience with me as I make the changes.

With corn and tomatoes in season and all my new-found time on my hands, I enjoyed leisurely cooking a hot lunch.  Thanks to San Francisco Indian summers, it was still a tad breezy outside, which made the warm food all the more enjoyable.

INGREDIENTS

5 cups light chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, minced
3 cups fresh corn kernels (from 5 to 6 ears)
1 1/2 cups Italian medium-grain rice, preferably Carnaroli (10 ounces)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock to the rice and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring the risotto until the stock is absorbed before adding more; the risotto is done when the rice is just tender and the sauce is creamy, about 22 minutes. Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over moderately high heat. Lower the heat to keep the stock at a bare simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the corn and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Add the rice and stir until the grains are thoroughly coated with fat, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and continue stirring until most of the wine has evaporated.