Summer Risotto: Light and Delicious

I love risotto and am always looking for new recipes. I saw this one on epicurious but I don’t have a subscription, so I lost access to the recipe and had to create my own version. The garlic clove (minced) is optional as is the cheese. It has a lighter texture than my usual risotto made with chicken broth and white wine and a delicate flavor that if you didn’t know it was pineapple you might be stumped as to what was used in place of white wine. I am crazy about it’s subtle flavor and lightened texture. I left off the cheese and garlic but feel free to add them. It is vegetarian, made with pseudo butter it can be vegan. It is my new fav summer dish!

I served it topped with sautéed scallops and shrimp, 3 of each. You can actually cook the shrimp in the rice; toss the peeled raw shrimp in for the last 4-6 minutes or so of cooking. I pan fried the scallops, in mild olive oil for 2 minutes on a side until browned. This is a lovely light summer dish for delightful dining. Other seafood might be lovely too, try oven baked pork tenderloin slices or some sautéed boneless chicken.

The tiny grains of short rice swell up as they absorb the liquid you add to the pan, stirring frequently.
Pan fried scallops and shrimp poached in the rice. Waiting to be added on top of the plated risotto.
Sorry about the old and sad melamine plate; it was a delicious meal for sure!

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter divided

1 Tbsp. mild olive oil

1 cup arborio rice (I used Italian Vialone Nano rice imported from Itally which is especially authentic for risotto.)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 minced garlic clove

1 small can pineapple juice; about 2/3 cup. Add veggie broth to make the total 3 1/4 cups.

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/4-1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)

1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil or whole tiny basil leaves

Directions: Heat large saucepan (I use my mini wok) and add 2 tbsp. butter and the oil, melt butter and add chopped onion, cook 2 minutes; add the rice. Stir and cook 2 minutes while you heat the veggie broth and pineapple juice in a saucepan until hot but not boiling.

To the pan add garlic if you want (optional) and then add broth/juice mixture, one ladle full at a time.  Stir after adding each ladle and stir a couple times as it cooks.  When the broth is mostly absorbed add another ladle. When I add the first ladle, I set my timer for 18 minutes. When the 18 minutes have elapsed add a tablespoon of butter and 1/4 the chopped basil, also salt and pepper. Stir well and cook 1-2 minutes. Add another few tablespoons of veggie broth if it looks dry. I did a quarter cup more liquid when I made it. Stir frequently and taste; can cook another minute if necessary (total of 20 minutes for the dish once rice added.) Turn it off and stir in optional grated cheese, then add the basil leaves, stir and serve.

I served it in a mound with some sauted whole shrimp and scallops fried top and bottom about 4 minutes total. Delicious!

Sweet Corn Cooking Hack

Sweet corn season is here.  In many places really good sweet corn can be had, like farms markets, road side stands and even Wegmans!  I don’t know about you but when I only am making one or two ears it seems silly to fire up a tall pot of water.  I do steam the corn which only takes an inch or so of hot water but still…too much to do.

A few summers ago on a hot day, I realized there was a quick and easy way to make an ear…or two without that big hot pan of water and steam. I just take a large frying pan, put a quarter inch of water in it, sprinkle of salt and let it heat until bubbling.  I then lay in my ear or two which I have husked and removed all the silk.  Then the pan is topped with a lid or an empty pizza pan if your frying pan is too big for your lids.  Cook it the usual time; depends on how fresh the corn is.  The fresher your corn ears, the less cooking time you need.  The steam in the pan will cook it really fast.  Maybe 6 to 8 minutes. I have been doing this since 2016 and it is such a better way to steam corn. Just give it a try; I know you will find this a great way to cook sweet corn.

And the bonus is that if it runs out of water your ear will get a bit of carmelization going which only adds to the flavor.  In fact, I hope it gets browned a bit; sometimes I rotate the ear to brown it on another side.  Remove with tongs when your corn reaches the done stage you like.  Sometimes I take a quick bite to test for eating readiness!

Serve your ear(s) with salt and butter and enjoy fresh corn without heating the kitchen up much.  Oh, and I have some lovely prong thingies my sister gave me for pushing into the corn, so my fingers stay cool as I munch corn.  Great idea. Get them! Mine are plain like these; they do make corny looking versions, but I prefer these simple looking ones. 

Originally posted in 2016. A few minor grammar changes were made.  corn prongs

Coconut Chicken and Rice

This yummy recipe is great for hot summer days as it is made in an Instant Pot. It doesn’t warm up the kitchen and allows me to do other things while my IP works hard to make a great dish that is quick, delicious and healthy. It is from my favorite Instant Pot cookbook The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cookbook by Laurel Randolph. There are many excellent recipes in this book and most of them can be gluten free; either naturally or with a little tweeting of the ingredients. I highly recommend it for great recipes and it is well designed for easy use.

My notes: I do not like cilantro so I just sprinkled some parsley in the pot and it was fine. It has a lot of curry powder but I found it to be well balanced and not too spicy; if you really want to, cut it back by a third. I used frozen ginger as it keeps so well and chops/grates easily. Don’t forget the lime to squeeze over the plate; really adds a fresh note.

Yummy Coconut Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. EVOL

1 large onion sliced vertically into 1/4 inch strips

a 1 inch length of ginger, peeled and sliced into fine sticks

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp. ground tumeric

kosher salt

ground black pepper

1 14 oz can light coconut milk

4 chicken thighs; bone in, skin on

1/2 cup water

1 1/3 cup jasmine rice

1-2 Tsp. parsley or cilantro leaves, chopped fine.

1- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 lime cut in wedges

Directions: set IP on sauté, add EVOL. When hot add the sliced onions, stir for a minute, add the ginger, cook 2 minutes, add garlic, cook 30 seconds and add the two spices, stir well. Add the chicken thighs, turn over to coat with spices. Add salt and pepper to taste; I did 1/2 tsp. salt and just a few turns of pepper. Add the water and coconut milk, stir around, put the lid on and set for 13 minutes. When timer goes off, set to quick vent. Remove chicken to a plate and add the rice, parsley and sugar, stir. Close lid and set to 4 minutes. When done hit cancel and let stand 10 minutes, then vent and open. I served mine in a wide shallow bowl; removed the skin and squeezed lime juice over it all. Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumb Pie – Delish!

As it is almost blueberry season, I was feeling the need to share my blueberry crumb pie.

This is really easy to create.  Slice and dump together the filling, crumb topping gets quickly made by dumping ingredients in the mixer bowl you used for the bottom crust. You can store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; it keeps a few weeks.  This GF crumb topping is perfect for most any fruit pie.

Bake and enjoy summer in a pie in just a few minutes of work.  Don’t eat it piping hot; it should be cooled to room temperature.  You could certainly serve this with vanilla ice cream or any other vanilla topping.

Angie’s GF Blueberry Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe) or King Arthur’s Basic gf flour

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6-10 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

5 cups fresh blueberries – place in medium bowl

Mix with: ½ cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. quick tapioca

Add and stir in

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Let stand while you prepare the crust.

Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  Crimp edges all around.  Fill with fruit mixture.

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like.  I like about three quarters of the mixture.  Up to your personal taste… It sinks partially into the fruit mixture and adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 50 or so minutes until the blueberries are bubbly and the crumb crust is light brown.  I put a piece of aluminum foil on top for the last ten minutes if the crumbs are getting too browned.  Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.  I think it is best served the same day you make it, or no more then 12 hours after baking for optimal flavor.  The crumbs will get soggy if too much time passes.

Note: if you find your bottom crust is not browning enough bake it empty at 375 degrees for ten minutes before filling it with the fruit.  I am lucky to have a bottom heat pizza style oven which gives me perfect pie crust so I don’t ever have pale pie crust.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur basic gf blend)

2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch – not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

***************************************

The crust and crumb recipes are from Annalise Roberts great cookbook, GF Baking Classics, Second Edition.

Reprinted from 2016 post; no changes to recipe.

Blueberry Sourdough Scones

Scones, tender, flakey, full of yumminess… something I used to make years ago. Kinda gave up on them, had made some but sort of heavy. So, I assumed all scones were generally pretty sad when made gluten free. Well, last summer I attempted them and made a batch with leftover sourdough starter which is generally called discard. I had created the starter last week using brown rice flour and had made a tasty loaf of seeded white sourdough bread in my 8.5 x 4.5 tall, sided loaf pan. So, I was looking for a way to use up the excess sourdough starter. I couldn’t find a recipe for blueberry sourdough gf scones, so I took a gluten-based recipe and reconfigured it to make with a one for one blend: specifically, Bob’s Redmill 1-1 Blend. I used a half cup of thick starter. I left out the recipe’s lemon ingredients as I just wanted blueberry and scone as the flavors. I also returned the dairy back to real dairy like actual butter and milk.

 I ate the first one when it was just to room temperature. It was like heaven in a scone shape. Crisp outside, tender inside. Bursts of blueberries rendered me speechless. It was somewhat of a religious experience for a baker like me. I have never eaten such a tender delicate gluten free baked item. The crumb was moist and as perfect as I could ask for. You have to try this! I don’t know what you can sub for the sourdough starter. Maybe Greek yogurt? Maybe you should just make starter so you can bake these scones. 

I used a gram scale to measure the dry ingredients and it gives very exacting measurements, so I highly recommend using one.

Frozen blueberries work so well; because they keep the dough chilly as you mix it with a wooden spoon and then kneading it with (clean) bare hands.  Trust me, it is easy to make and utterly decadent despite no icing or chocolate or nuts. I made it with some nuts and chocolate the next weekend. Fabulous! The recipe is somewhere on this site… You could try some other types of frozen berries. Let me know how it turns out!

Since then, I have made them a few times and I kind of like making a big square of the dough and cutting it into 12 small squares; smaller is more what I like in a serving. I do freeze them; generally best eaten in less than a month. Just bake them a couple of minutes less.

As I am about to mix it together.
Ready to bake scones.
Just baked scones still on sheet from oven

Angie’s Blueberry Sourdough Scones (GF of course)

Ingredients:

200 grams 1-1 Gluten free flour blend; I used Bob’s Redmill

50 grams almond flour

100 grams granulated sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

7.5 Tbsp of cold butter

1 heaping cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

½ cup sourdough starter (Use the discard if you are creating discard)

1 large egg

1/3 c cold whole milk

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in cold butter with a butter cutter or 2 knives. Until it is tiny pebbles of dough and butter.

Add the egg, starter and ¼ c of the milk. Mix to break up egg and start the blending process. Add in the frozen berries (or fresh) and continue stirring. As it gets to be a thick dough dump it out on your breadboard with all the dry bits and hand knead it to coalesce it into a thick dough. Form it into a large disc; about 8-9 inches across. Cut into 8 wedges; cut in half, then quarters then again into eighths. Spread them out on a cookie sheet that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Put the sheet in a cold place to chill while you heat the oven. Heat to 355 degrees.

Put the sheet in to bake. If you have a convection cycle they will be done in about 25 minutes; the outside needs to be light brown, bottom browned and they look done. I tried 18-20 min but that wasn’t enough. I think my total was 26 minutes. If you don’t have convection they will likely take a few more minutes.  Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and move to a rack. I got distracted and just left the pan of scones on the rack! They cooled rapidly and I couldn’t resist eating one. Plain. Now I am not hungry for lunch. I just want more scones.

Enjoy! I think they will freeze nicely; vacuum sealing would be a good way to go about it.