Spring Vegetable Risotto with Poached Eggs

 

Spring Vegetable Risotto with Poached Eggs

Many people are intimidated by risotto. There is this misconception that it is something super hard to make. It is just a step by step process, and can be easy if you have time and patience. In case you have been living under a rock, risotto is a classic creamy Italian rice dish. You can pretty much put anything you want in it, and it will taste good. All broths that the rice is cooked in are typically meat, fish, or vegetable based.

The original recipe calls for a poached egg, but after some failed attempt, we decided to just go with fried eggs instead. Man I need to get one of those easy poacher things. What are those called? Anyways, poaching eggs is real hard and I need to figure out a way to deal with this problem. The original recipe has a few other ingredients, like sour cream, but I decided it was rich enough for my liking so I omitted those. I also omitted fennel, but that's because both stores I went to weren't carrying it. That was surprising.

I actually had no idea how to clean a leek, or even what parts to use, so I watched an instructional video that you can find here. You can also find the original Bon Appétit recipe here.

I would definitely make this for a large group of people, because it's easy to just double the recipe and make more. If your pot is big enough, you can make a lot more. Because there is nothing wrong with some risotto leftovers. I will be having some more in about .10 seconds.

Here is my failed poached egg attempt. 

Ingredients:

2 cups shelled fresh (or frozen, thawed) fava beans or peas

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

4 large eggs

8 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large leeks, whites and pale greens only, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

1 bunch flat leaf spinach, trimmed, leaves torn

4 sausages of your choice, cooked and cut up (I used my George Foreman)

1 1/2 cups finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan

1/4 cup fresh chives plus more for serving (I used 1/4 cup and I think I could have even used as much as 1/2 a cup or 3/4 of a cup

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. If using fresh fava beans, cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water 1 minute. Drain; transfer to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Peel the fava beans and transfer to a small bowl (I read that peeling fava beans can be hard, so take a vegetable peeler and peel along the seam. They should pop right out).

2. Bring broth to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and keep warm. 

3. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large, wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add leeks and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, about 4 minutes. 

Add rice and stir to coat, about 2 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until evaporated, about 4 minutes. 

4. Add 1 cup broth. Cook, stirring often (no need to stir constantly), until broth is almost absorbed. Add remaining broth by cupfuls, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more, stirring often, until rice is tender but still firm to the bite and mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total.

5. While the risotto is cooking, put your sausages on a grill, panini maker, or just in a pan. Cook until browned on the outside. Chop up and set aside.

6. Add spinach, 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, 1/4 cup chives, sausage, and reserved fava beans to risotto. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Season risotto with salt. 

7. A few minutes before risotto is done, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the egg to your likeness. I usually do about 1-2 minutes per each side, but that's because I like my eggs runny. Riley does 2-3 minutes per side on his eggs. Top risotto with the egg.

Here is what Bon Appétit's picture looks like. Dangit...