Pesto Risotto

Pesto Risotto

Backstory 

After returning from dinner on a recent Friday night with some friends, I showed them my blog. When they came to the post for my Italian Sausage, Red Pepper and Mushroom Risotto recipe, my wife repeated that she was expecting it to be green like she saw on Hell’s Kitchen. My friends’ had dined at one of Gordon Ramseys’ restaurants in New York City (the name escapes me at the moment) and they mentioned that Chef Ramsey’s risotto is green because it’s a pesto risotto. Since I already had many of the ingredients from the first time, I now had a new mission. 

Recipe 

My source for this recipe is I Love You, Now Eat This. She references a pesto recipe in it but does not provide a link, so I have done so here. 

Ingredients for Both Pesto and Risotto

Pesto Notes 

1. Pine Nuts. The recipe had “toasted” italicized, so I was sure to do that, but wasn’t sure how to proceed until I asked another friend who graduated from the California Culinary Academy. He instructed to put the nuts on a cookie sheet at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty minutes or until golden brown. I went to check on them at 15 minutes and they were dark brown, so I removed the nuts then. I would recommend ten to twelve minutes. 

2. “Cooking” Method. I used a blender to combine the ingredients because I only have a small food processor and it only has a pulse button. When I put the blender on its lowest speed, the basil stuck to the sides, so I had to stop and stir by hand a few times in order for it to blend evenly. 

Pesto Ingredients in the Blender

Final Product

Risotto Notes 

As I’ve encountered other risotto recipes since my last risotto post, I’ve noticed that their cooking methods are very similar, varying slightly to accommodate specific ingredients. Before I started adding the vegetable broth, it occurred to me that the cooking method starts similar to Rice-A-Roni. 

Not Rice-A-Roni

With that noted, however: 

1. Vegetable Broth. I’m a little confused why the squash and zucchini were added to the broth in the first place, as I don’t like buying food only to toss them. The only reason I even considered it was because they were relatively cheap (less than $2 each). I wonder how these ingredients would affect the taste if I left them out. 

Vegetable Broth

Final Thoughts 

Overall this risotto was tastier than the last one I cooked several weeks ago, however my wife thought it was over-seasoned with salt. The one thing I will take from this experience is the pesto, as I know it can be applied to countless other dishes.

Enjoy!