Asparagus Risotto

Posted on June 29, 2017 by babbityjean

Risotto is one of the classic dishes in Italian cuisine.  I don’t think risotto is difficult to make, but some people are hesitant to try.  Perhaps it is because it takes more or less constant stirring from beginning to end.  In fact, I think the easy part is that the quantities don’t have to be exact in my opinion.  Also, once you have made it a couple of times and feel comfortable with how the rice absorbs the broth, you can make risotto with anything—mushrooms, squash, radicchio, meat.

Before I list the ingredients and the recipe, here are some pointers and points of contention that I gleaned from my own experience and from researching different recipes.  First, because a risotto must be cooked in a uniform manner on the stovetop, it is important to choose the right pot—neither too tall not too narrow.  The ideal pot is probably one that eventually contains the rice and the broth at a height of 2 or 3 fingers.

Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone nano are the ideal varieties of rice to use. Arborio is the most widely available in supermarkets, but Italians generally prefer the other two, which have smaller grains, are starchier, and absorb liquid a little better.  Many people suggest that at the outset, the rice should be washed; others say that this causes the rice to lose its consistency and to split apart during cooking.

You can use either an onion or shallot at the outset of cooking.  They should be chopped so that they are no larger than the grains of rice.  Then they should be wilted gently in olive oil without taking on color.  Then the rice should be toasted lightly, wine or other alcohol added, and the boiling broth added little by little while stirring more or less constantly.  Some recipes add the cut asparagus after the onion and before the rice; I prefer parboiling the asparagus and adding them at the last minute to preserve their crunchiness.  Another point of debate is whether it is necessary to add butter at the end.

In any case, it is advisable to serve the risotto as soon as it reaches the desired consistency.  The bowl or plate on which it is served should not be warmed in advance; otherwise the cooking continues.  As much as I like leftovers that sometimes taste better the following day, I find that risotto reheated the following day just doesn’t taste great.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
  • 5 cups canned vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped shallot or onion
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup or more of dry white wine
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1.  Blanch asparagus pieces in large pot of boiling, salted water 2 minutes. Add tips and cook one minute more. Rinse asparagus under cold water. Drain asparagus well.
  2. Bing broth to simmer in small saucepan.
  3. Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and sauté gently until transparent, about 4 minutes.  Add rice and stir for about 3 minutes.  Add wine and cook until liquid evaporates.
  4. Add boiling broth about a cup at a time and stir more or less continuously. Continue until rice is tender but slightly firm in the center and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes.  Add asparagus stalks and reserve points for decoration at the end.
  5. Remove from heat, add butter and stir to incorporate. Add parmesan, season with salt and pepper.

Buon Appetito!

 

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I Cent’Anni del Negroni, l’aristocratico dei Cocktail

Posted on June 22, 2017 by babbityjean

Nel 2016, “Drinks International,” una rivista prestigiosa che tratta cocktail, ha classificato i migliori drink nel mondo.   Il Negroni è il secondo dopo l’Old Fashioned.  Gli altri nei primi dieci sono il Manhattan, Daiquiri, Martini, Whiskey Sour, Margarita, Sazerac, Moscow Mule, and the Mojito.

La storia del Negroni è molto interessante.  È italiano, certamente, ma con un pizzico di America ed un goccio di Inghilterra.  Alla fine dell’Ottocento nei caffè fiorentini alla moda nel tardo pomeriggio scattava “l’ora del vermouth”.  I gentiluomini bevevano il vermouth insieme al Bitter (Campari), guarnito con una fetta di limone, un drink che ancora oggi è molto amato.   Fu prima chiamato Milano-Torino (le città d’origine dell’alcool) e poi l’Americano.  Questa era l’alba del Negroni.

Il Conte Camillo Negroni (1868—1934) era un membro eccentrico, creativo, e affascinante dell’élite artistica e culturale di Firenze.  Un giorno tra il 1917 e il 1920, si trovò in un elegante bar del centro di Firenze.  Ordinò un “Americano” ma poi chiese al giovane barista, Fosco Scarselli, di “irrobustire” il suo drink.  Scelse un gin britannico, che avrebbe aumentato il livello alcolico senza diminuire il bel colore rosso.  Fu guarnito con un’arancia per distinguerlo dal suo predecessore.  Per un breve periodo, questo drink fu conosciuta come “un Americano nel modo del Conte Negroni”, ma ben presto semplicemente, “Negroni”.

Un Negroni è facile da fare, facile da ricordare, e facile da ordinare in molte lingue.  È un

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terzo di gin, un terzo di Campari, e un terzo di vermouth rosso miscelati in un bicchiere con tanto ghiaccio e una fetta di limone (o arancia).  Insieme al Bellini, è il cocktail italiano più conosciuto e bevuto al mondo.  Ha sedotto molte celebrità americane, tra cui Orson Welles.  Negli anni Cinquanta era uno dei drink preferiti nei “transition bar”, i cosiddetti bar di passaggio nelle stazioni ferroviarie. È immortalato nel film “La primavera romana della signora Stone” (1961) dalla novella di Tennessee Williams; la protagonista si abbandona in uno di questi bar a un “magnifico Negroni per dimenticare e aprirsi ai giovani amori”.  Persino Ian Fleming, l’ideatore di James Bond, in un suo racconto (Risiko del 1960) diventa un ambasciatore del Negroni…servito, certamente, con il Gordon Gin.

Ci sono state molte varianti.  A Roma nel 1950, anno del Giubileo, il barman dell’Hotel Excelsior decide di dedicare un cocktail ad un cardinale che sceglieva proprio quel posto per l’aperitivo.  Così, ispirandosi al colore dell’abito pensò ad una variazione del Negroni: sostituì il Martini rosso con il Dry, e “Il Cardinale” è nato.  Negli anni Sessanta arrivò il Negroni Sbagliato, in cui il drink è stato alleggerito sostituendo il gin con lo spumante brut.  Infatti, il barista a Milano prese una bottiglia per un’altra e pensando di versare il gin aggiunse il brut.  Piacque ai presenti … e poi tantissimi altri.  In Inghilterra lo chiamano Negroni Mistaken e nei paesi di lingua spagnola Negroni Equivocado.

Poi c’è il Negroski con vodka al posto del gin.  E Il Western Style Negroni con Wild Turkey bourbon al posto del gin, guarnito con gocce di cioccolato amaro.  Fortunatamente il Conte Negroni non è qui per testimoniarli.

 

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100 Years of the Negroni, “the Aristocrat” of Cocktails

Posted on June 22, 2017 by babbityjean

In 2016, “Drinks International,” a prestigious magazine in the world of cocktails, ranked the best-loved drinks in the world.  The Negroni came in second behind the Old Fashioned.  Rounding out the top 10 are the Manhattan, Daiquiri, dry Martini, Whiskey Sour, Margarita, Sazarec, Moscow Mule, and Mojito.

The history of the Negroni is interesting.  It is Italian, of course, but with a twist of American and a splash of British.  At the end of the nineteenth century in the fashionable Florentine cafés in the late afternoon, it was “the hour of vermouth” for gentlemen.  It was all the rage at the time to drink a combination of vermouth and bitter (Campari), garnished with a lemon, that even today is quite loved.  It was first called Milano-Torino (after the cities of origin of the alcohol) and then, ironically, “the American.”  This was the dawn of the Negroni.

Count Camillo Negroni (1868—1934) was an eccentric, creative, and charming member of Florence’s artistic and cultural elite.  One day sometime between 1917 and 1920, he was at an elegant bar in Florence’s town center.  He ordered an “Americano” but then asked the young bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to “strengthen” his drink.  The choice became a British gin, which would raise the alcoholic level without diminishing the beautiful red color.  It was garnished with an orange to distinguish it from its predecessor.  For a brief period, this drink became known as “An Americano in the manner of Count Negroni,” but very soon simply, “Negroni.”

A Negroni is easy to prepare, easy to remember, and easy to order in many languages.  It is

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a third gin, a third of Bitter Campari, and a third of red vermouth mixed in a glass with a lot of ice and a slice of lemon (or orange).  Together with the Bellini, it is the Italian cocktail most known and consumed in the world.  It has seduced many American celebrities, including Orson Welles.  During the ‘50s it became one of the preferred drinks in “transition bars,” the so-called passenger lounges in train stations.  The drink was immortalized in the film “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” (1960), adapted from the novel by Tennessee Williams, where the protagonist orders “a magnificent Negroni’ in one of these bars “to forget [her late husband] and open herself to young love.”  Even Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, in his story Risico (1960) became an ambassador for the drink…served, of course, with Gordon gin.

As long-lived and beloved as the Negroni is, there have been variations over time.  In Rome in 1950, the Jubilee year, the barman at the Excelsior Hotel decided to dedicate a cocktail to a cardinal who chose that place for his aperitivo.  Inspired by the color of his “suit” he came up with a variation:  he substituted Martino rosso for the Dry and “The Cardinale” was born.  In the 1970s came The Mistaken Negroni, in which the drink was “lightened” by substituting sparkling wine for gin.  In fact, the bartender in Milan at the time mistook one bottle for another and thinking he was pouring gin, added the brut.  It pleased those who were present and took hold.  In England it is called the Negroni Mistaken and in Spanish-speaking countries, the Negroni Equivocado.

Then there is the Negroski with vodka in place of gin.  And the Western Style Negroni with Wild Turkey bourbon instead of gin, garnished with drops of bitter chocolate.  Fortunately, Count Negroni isn’t around to witness these.

 

Posted in Cucina italiana, English, Firenze, Foto, Italia, Storia | 2 Comments