Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Risotto al finocchio, or fennel risotto



I was standing at my kitchen counter slicing, stirring and thinking. I was thinking about life, how much - or rather how little - time we have. I was thinking about how we all want to leave a mark in this world, how we all want to be remembered.
 
Not everyone is born an artist, a genius with words, notes, paintbrushes; not all of us have magic in their hands. We don't all excel in our careers or have children to pass on our genes, our teachings, our experience. But I think we all strive to be remembered, we all want our life to have had a meaning, to have left some sort of an impact.
 
I kept stirring and musing. I was making a family favorite, risotto, using a totally new ingredient, the humblest of vegetables. I had never once heard of or even thought of making risotto with fennel bulbs until recently. I ask myself why, now that I have experienced the delightful creamy, delicate yet almost buttery flavor fennel imparts.
 




Fennel is a vegetable that grows pretty much all year round in Italy. It is cheap and has a reasonably long shelf life, especially if you store it in the fridge. It can be eaten raw or cooked and is said to have medicinal uses improving eyesight, milk production in breastfeeding women, and with curative - hypertension, intestinal tract (to treat flatulence and colic in babies) - and  diuretic properties. Many people dislike its strong aniseed flavor, but the problem is easily solved by cooking: simmer it or roast it and fennel magically loses its aniseed and liquorice note and turns into a silky, sweet and/or caramelized side dish.
 
 
 
 
But back to my thoughts. I stumbled upon this recipe on Terry's blog, which is full of interesting recipes. It is in Italian and English. I was surprised about the risotto and fennel combination, apparently a comforting household staple for her. Half of my family was going through a bout of stomach flu and a light and very simple risotto seemed like the perfect meal to satisfy those of us who were unwell and those of us who were fine. I was however even more surprised when I scrolled down and discovered Terry's mother had just recently, prematurely passed away. She was posting this recipe in  memory of her mother, the ultimate comfort food.
 
I made this the same day and I couldn't stop thinking about this person I didn't know, that I had never met and would never meet. I knew I would think of her every time I made this from now on, a woman who enjoyed cooking for those she loved and who gave love through her meals. She will be remembered. You don't have to create a masterpiece or found a Forbes 100 company to leave a mark. You can leave a legacy with a simple recipe that will be cooked by other women, men, mothers, fathers, friends and lovers around the world and bring comfort. I made this in her memory and in the memory of all those people who have achieved greatness in small, nurturing, everyday gestures.
 
 



 
 
Ingredients (4/5 servings)
2 large fennel bulbs
400gr rice (carnaroli, vialone nano, arborio)
2 small shallots
vegetable stock
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
a large knob of butter
olive oil
 
Heat enough olive oil to coat the base of the pot you will  be using to  make the risotto. Thinly slice the shallots and fennel bulbs using a mandolin or chop finely. Start sauteing the shallots until soft and transluscent, then stir in the fennel, letting it sweat. When it has visibly softened you can add the rice and then the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Shortly before taking the risotto off the stove, stir in the butter and grated cheese. To make risotto, check out the tutorial here.
 
 
 
 



19 comments:

  1. This is such a wonderful post and I completely echo your sentiments. I love the way that people can be remembered through food (how many people say that their grandmother or mother taught them everything they know) and you're right, you don't have to be a world leader to make an impact.

    I adore fennel - shaved raw in salads, roasted with fish, sliced into pasta dishes or cooked until melting and heavenly in a risotto. Delicious.

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  2. I also never thought of making fennel risotto! Now I am thinking of using the fennel I have in the fridge precisely for this!

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    1. Isn't it funny how many Italians (my husband and friends for example) have never thought of using fennel with pasta or rice? But then, if you google it there are actually a lot of people doing it!

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  3. "You don't have to create a masterpiece or found a Forbes 100 company to leave a mark. You can leave a legacy with a simple recipe that will be cooked by other women, men, mothers, fathers, friends and lovers around the world and bring comfort."

    Thank you for this. I'm going to remember this when next I cook something that was handed down by someone I love and honor.

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    1. I am glad this meant something to you, it is a consolation to me too, to know I can remember those a love through a simple gesture or that perhaps one day I may be remembered in the same way.

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  4. Carissima.... Non sai che piacere mi fa leggere questo tuo post... Anche mamma ne sarebbe felicissima, lei amava condividere le sue ricette!
    Hai speso parole speciali e per questo ti ringrazio!
    Son felice ti sia piaciuto!
    Ti abbraccio forte forte e ti ringrazio ancora
    Terry

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    1. Mi è dispiaciuto molto leggere la notizia di tua mamma e immagino che siano momenti difficili. Spero che il pensiero di gente che cucina la sua ricetta in ogni angolo del mondo ti dia un pò di conforto. Un abbraccio

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  5. Very beautiful piece of writing, I was moved. I agree too, and now I really would like to try this; it reminded me of ma2moura, a dish of rice and cabbage that is done here.

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  6. I love fennel in salads when there are lots of other flavour and when it is thinly sliced. Otherwise, it's a little too strong for me. But in a risotto like this, it would mellow out beautifully! :D

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    1. It totally changes flavor, you would never guess it was fennel unless you were told. My family guessed a bit and then gave up.

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  7. Everything you say is so true - we are here for but a little while! I love risotto but I've never made fennel risotto. I'd love to try this! xx

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  8. So beautiful. The sentiment, the writing and the recipe. I'm a fennel addict. I've used fennel risotto as a base for scallops before, but never just on its own. I can see how it would have such an elegant simplicity to it.

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  9. I absolutely adore fennel in all its permutations. (I've even been known to chew on the stalks…) But I've never tried it in risotto. I think I know what I'll be having for dinner tonight.

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  10. Made your fennel Risotto yesterday for O.,his son and myself,it was absolutely delicious! Only thing I changed,I added about 1 cup of white wine to the fennel to soften it and I used about 1 and 1/4 liter (2Pts) of broth for about 450 gr.of arborio rice. And!!! with the leftover I made my favorite riso al salto today,hm,hm! Do you recognize the writer?

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    1. It took me a couple of minutes, but how could I not know? So glad you liked it, I was so positively surprised by this recipe. Adding the white wine is actually a great tip, and in the original recipe the author added it to the rice when toasting it (as she wrote: il riso nasce nell'acqua e annega nel vino). I just didn't have any around. I didn't write the amount of stock because it really depends on how high your heat is and what rice you are using, but that sounds pretty much like the amount I used.

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  11. I enjoyed reading your experiment with fennel and wondered if you were interested in submitting this post to a new event called Our Growing Edge.

    A growing edge is the part of us that is still learning and experimenting. It’s the part that you regularly grow and improve, be it from real passion or a conscious effort. The event aims to compile a monthly snapshot as to what bloggers are doing in terms of new challenges with food. This monthly event aims to connect and inspire us to try new things.

    I am currently accepting posts from January and February and I hope you can make it.

    More info can be found here: 
    http://bunnyeatsdesign.com/our-growing-edge
    or the link party here:
    http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=233654

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  12. What a stunning recipe! I have quite the fennel obsession as of late (making up for a life of ignoring this humble vegetable). I recently moved to Italy from London and I love how abundant, cheap and fresh fennel is here, and that you can buy it year-round (yes, admittedly I miss being able to buy peaches, strawberries, melons, etc. all year round in the UK).

    And I love the idea of leaving a mark through recipes - just the other day I cooked a childhood favourite, a simple dish really, slow-cooked carrots, with lots of pepper and parsley, lightly sweetened and served with meatballs ... and it made me think of both my mum and grandma (thankfully both alive and well!) who would prepare this for us, including letting mini-me stand on a chair and help preparing the mix for the meatballs.

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    1. Hi Real Simple Food! Glad you enjopyed this discovery as much as I did. Also, love hearing about food-related memories, especially childhood ones.

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