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Please Fave the original Here

This was a beast to make, but quite tasty :B

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Original submission: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/9814242/

Nice and flavourful a great light meal from the kitchens of chrismukkah

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Since I did get a request for something Italian from mantineko, far be it from this Italian pangolin NOT to follow it up :B

This recipe comes from Williams & Sonoma"s "Regional Italian" cookbook, that I just had to give a try !

INGREDIENTS:

* optional

1 1/4 cup risotto rice, such as vialone nano, arborio or carnaroli
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (used the stuff in the can, sue me :P)
tiny pinch of nutmeg
1/2 onion, diced up*
1 - 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil*
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley*
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel*
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes*
1/2 teaspoon dried basil*
2 - 3 cups chicken stock in a box*
1 capful white truffle oil* (VERY optional)
salt and pepper to taste

For the Provolone & Sausage Filling:

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
5 ounces homemade sausage or store bought course textured Italian sausage, meat removed from the casing and crumbled
(didn"t use, but don"t let that stop you - heck, if you want this vegan, just leave out all the cheesy goodness... you can even probably use nutritional yeast to get that cheesy flavor - and put in any of your favorite grilled veggies instead)
3/4 cup ricotta cheese* (I completely forgot to add this in, but dont let that stop you)
3/4 cup provolone cheese, dolce (sweet), or piccante (sharp) cut into 1/2 cubes - I went with "deli-sliced" myself :P
2 - 4 slices of asiago cheese* (here, you can leave this out - and I"ll come to why in a moment below)
1/4 cup chopped prosciutto
1/3 cup shelled peas, boiled until bright green and tender - you might have to shock these in iced cold water right after to get that effect!
(though I didnt use peas myself, I can"t stand them >_<)

What I -did- use was: (more optional stuffs)

2 roasted portobello mushroom caps*
1 whole bulb roasted garlic*
1 - 2 heaping tablespoons chopped marinated artichokes (that you can get in a jar)*
1 - 2 heaping tablespoons roasted red peppers* (also in a jar)
1/2 can stewed tomatoes* (here, I think I should have used just plain canned diced tomatoes, or canned romas instead - no matter where I"ve looked, stewed tomatoes always have this annoying way of being cooked with extra crap (i.e., chopped peppers, celery, spices, etc.) right in the can...pleh !!!)

So, what you want to do first is: get that oven going to 400 degrees to roast the portobellos and garlic. Wash the mushrooms and pat dry with a paper towel - then, you can use a small cookie sheet covered in tin foil, de-stem the mushrooms with a paring knife, then liberally oil the caps with olive oil, salt and pepper and a bit of red pepper flakes.

The garlic bulb is easy enough to roast as well - just get a small sheet of tin foil (5 x 5 in., if that), Coat with 2 tablespoons extra virgin oil, put on a bit of salt and pepper - then wrap it up as a foil packet and roast it along with the caps ! Roast for a good half hour (just flip the caps over at the 15 minute mark) and then when done, put the cookie sheet to one side to let cool.

When you are done roasting, turn down the oven to 350 degrees F and let it stay on for just a bit.

As for the risotto: I honestly can"t see myself doing it the "plain" way. (that is, with just boiling salted water...boooooooooring :P)

That said:

Chop up 1/2 of a large onion ( I found one leftover just sitting there in the fridge in a ziploc bag) - coat a large pot with at least 1 -2 tablespoons olive oil or at least enough to just coat the bottom, then saute" the onions over a medium heat with some salt and pepper until nice and translucent. Then add in the cup and 1/4 risotto, AS IS, to get that tasty onion flavor and to toast it just slightly.

THEN you can add the boxed chicken stock - a cup at a time (I used about 3, maybe 3 1/2 cups). For a vegetarian version you can always use the vegan chicken stock, or veggie broth. With the chicken stock however- especially the boxed stuff- if you havent used it in a while...just watch out for the "boogers" (the globs of congealed chicken fat that reside at the bottom of the box) - here, I"d recommend using a strainer.

Then when it gets nice and thick (about 30 minutes, which is the same amount of time your caps and garlic will need to cook anyways), then just add the rest of your spices. Turn off the heat and put the pot to one side...

BUT- while it is still hot there are two things that need to be done:

1.) While still HOT, add in the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

2.) THEN WHEN IT IS MORE COOLED (as in, lukewarm just about), THAT is when you add in the eggs to thicken it a bit more!

3.) Add in -just- a capful of white truffle oil (which, as I said, was very optional at the beginning) or if you don"t have, just another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil is fine, and stir well.

IF YOU HAD PUT IN THE EGGS WHILE THAT PAN WAS STILL BROILING HOT, FORGET IT! ...All you"ll end up with is scrambled eggs in with your risotto !!! XD

And if you have time: Heat 1 teaspoon or or so of olive oil in a large skillet, then cook your crumbled snausages until nicely browned, about 8 minutes and then set aside...I"d recommend putting the browned bits in a paper towel to drain off the excess fat/oils as well.

So: You have the risotto all cooked...and your garlic and caps all cooked...now what? :P

Well, Im glad you asked... because, now comes the fun part - playing with layers !

First, get a springform pan (or a large cake pan) and put in a sheet of parchment paper covering the inside.

Scoop out a few good spoonfuls of the risotto mixture and place at the bottom of the pan.

Then in a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, provolone, prosciutto, peas (yuck), and mix well, season with salt and pepper. Speaking for myself, I layered it with the tomatoes, roasted peppers, chopped artichokes, chopped prosciutto, roasted garlic and the caps, which I had sliced and spread around. Then, just cover with maybe 4 slices of provolone and 2 slices of asiago, then do the SAME thing with the next layer...and cover with cheese :B

By the way: that is the great thing about this dish. You can put in just about ANY kind of filling you like. I mentioned the grilled veggies for the vegans, but you can also do a "surf and turf" version (just add in maybe 10 -12 precooked shrimps without the shells/tails, plus the prosciutto - the rice layer will prevent the shrimps from overcooking!)

So now that you have this all good and layered, put it in the oven at 350 F, as I also said before, for a good 40 minutes. (My slow oven, and extra 5 :P) But at the 15 minute mark, you can take out and then sprinkle the top with a good bit of parmesan if you want a nice brown cheesy crust, which is what I did here.

Take out to cool for about 5 minutes, then serve with a spatula - it can still be good and loose in parts, but warm and gooooooey as well *nom nom*

And as for tasting - this is where I come to the part about the asiago cheese...

Next time, I"ll have to leave it out, and let the sweetness of the provolone "speak for itself" ! (You won"t need much, if any, salt to add to this trust me :P)

(That, and as I said, just using regular tomatoes...I wonder if chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil would have made this a bit different as well...have to do that the next time, along with not forgetting the ricotta!)

Ah well - its still VERY good and cheesy!

Enjoy :B

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