Risotto with Artichoke and Lemon

Risotto. Gotta love it.


It can be made so many different ways. Risotto with mushrooms, seafood, broccoli, it is all based around arborio or carnaroli rice. Carnaroli can be found in Italian markets, or ordered on-line, while arborio is readily available in most supermarkets and Trader Joe's. I use the arborio on a regular basis because it is easy to find. It has become a staple in my pantry. The Carnaroli I pick up when I go to the Italian market, which is rare, maybe every few months. I recently bought some to make a special dish from Venice, using fresh shrimp, and had some left over that I used in this dish.

Even though artichokes are in season right now I did not use them. I find that the frozen or jarred are just fine for some dishes. In this case I used the jarred. If made fresh, you must discard all the leaves on the outside of the choke to get to the heart, and it pains me to throw all that out. You can decide for yourself which type you want to use.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small onion or 1/2 a large onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup carnaroli rice
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 32 ounce can chicken broth
1 5 to 6 ounce jar artichoke hearts
Zest of one lemon
1 Tsp Lemon juice
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Drain the artichoke hearts well. Set aside.

In small saucepan heat the chicken broth until hot, then reduce the heat but keep hot. It is important that any broth or water added to the dish be very hot.

In a heavy bottomed large saute pan heat the canola oil, add the onion and saute about 7 minutes. The onion should be more than soft but not yet browning. Add the garlic and stir for one minute. Add the rice, stirring for a few minutes to coat well and slightly toast.

Start adding the hot chicken broth one ladle at a time. This process will take about 20 minutes. Add a ladle of broth and stir, almost constantly, allowing all the broth to cook off before adding the next ladle.

Add the salt, pepper and thyme. Stir well. Add the artichokes but stir gently so they do not completely fall apart.

Once the rice is done, turn off the heat and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese. To test for doneness you must taste it. Do not judge by time alone.

If the risotto gets too dry add a little hot water, that will loosen it up. And it is ready to serve.

The majority of the flavor should come from the zest which is why I love this dish so much. The combination of the zest and the artichoke is wonderful. You can hardly detect the other ingredients which is what you want. They are in the background, and add to the overall flavor, without you really knowing they are there.

Hum....what kind of wine should we serve with this dish?