A Blank Canvas

Perhaps my favorite thing to do when I cook is to riff.  Not having any musical ability, hence not being able to just fiddle around on a guitar or piano and make it sound any better than two very angry hippos sparring with each other while a cat is screaming, my only real version of creative improv comes in the kitchen.  So I just adore Italian food, specifically pasta and risotto.

Pasta and risotto are basically blank canvases.  They provide you with the support structure for whatever you are in the mood to eat.  Want fish?  It can go well in either one.  How about the leftover veggies you have in the fridge?  Sure thing!  In a bad mood and want to break out the jalapenos (or spicier) and leave the seeds in so others will suffer as you are?  That can work, too.  Anything you can crave or imagine (yes, even chocolate) can go into one of these wonderful dishes, making any mood deal-with-able.

Ruth has been bothering me for a while that I need to eat more fruit, so at the grocery store today, pears looked appetizing.  (More to the point, it being early January, they looked more appetizing than the few other in-season fruits, and significantly cheaper than out-of-season fares shipped in from Chile.)  I also had some extra baby spinach from the salmon and mushroom cream sauce dinner from late last week - it was buy one get one free, so this was the one free.  I thought: pear, spinach... let's make a risotto.

Now a purist would tell you that risotto takes a minimum of 45 minutes to get right, that it is about the art of extremely slow cooking.  In a perfect world, I agree.  But for people who work all day and just want dinner ready at a normal hour, it can be done a bit faster than that, and not much - if any - worse for the wear.

Parmesan, Pear, and Spinach Risotto
1/2 cup arborio rice per person (if you can't find arborio, make sure you use a short grain rice, as long grain will break down like it's nobody's business)
1/2 cup white wine per 1 cup rice (pear brandy would work nicely for this particular recipe as well)
2 cups vegetable stock per 1 cup rice
1/4 stick butter per 1 cup rice
1 or 2 pears, peeled, cored and diced
A couple handfulls of raw baby spinach
A small handfull grated or shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Melt the butter in a hot pan.  Stir in the rice and over medium heat, stir constantly until it becomes a bit translucent.  Add the wine, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently.  Add the stock (room temperature at coldest, but it works best if it is simmering) about a cup at a time - adding more when it is mostly absorbed, still stirring frequently if not constantly, until the rice is soft, but al dente.  It should not be crunchy, but should have a bit of toothsomeness.  Just before it is done, add the pear.  Stir in the spinach just before serving so that it wilts inside the risotto, and add the cheese to taste.

The secret is a fairly constant babysitting.  Because you will only be adding the stock a bit at a time, there will never be too much in the pot, so the danger of burning rice is high.  The stirring will also help to release some of the rice starch, thickening the risotto until it looks and tastes creamy - without any cream!

All in all, a wonderful way to get a warm filling meal and use some of my leftovers.