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Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

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Benton Thrasher

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Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Benton Thrasher » Thu Jul 19, 2012 7:17 pm

I've been experimenting with a good bit of Italian lately, and stumbled upon a creation that is actually very nice if you like Risotto. I thought I would share here since there is a lot of sharing and criticism in this thread, some of which I hope to receive. I will say now that this isn't exactly a fat-free recipe, and that I used Arborio rice that I found online (will not plug the website here because I don't know if it is proper or not, but if interested you can PM me).

The Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine (2 of which should be divided)
0.25-0.50 pounds Pancetta
2 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon Finely chopped Scallions
2 Shallots, diced fine
1+1/3 Cup Small (Short) grain rice
1/2 Cup White Wine (Chardonnay from Riverbend Winery is what I used)
2 Pints Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Grated Fresh Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan) *Plus* two small slices of Parmesan for each serving (about 3 inch slices or so)
3-4 Tablespoons Basil, chiffonade (chiffonaded?)
Salt & Pepper to taste

The Process:
Find a heavy saucepan, and into it melt one tablespoon of that butter over medium-low heat, add the pancetta. Once crisped (not burned), remove from the pan, leaving as much of the fat and butter in the pot as you can. Add the shallots to your pot, along with a healthy pinch of salt, and sweat for 5-6 minutes. Meanwhile, find a second pot and heat it over medium heat; adding your Chicken Stock and heating to just below a simmer, tweaking the heat as necessary.

In your first pan now (the one with shallots), add your rice and saute; stirring regularly as to not burn it, until it starts to make a sound closely associated with Rice Crispies in milk (about 2-3 minutes in most cases). Add your scallions at this point, and slowly stir in your wine, stirring until the wine is almost completely absorbed by the rice, about another 2-3 minutes.

From here your attention is 100% demanded to the rice, tune out any other distractions. Add just enough stock from pot "B" into pot "A" as to cover the rice and stir almost constantly, allowing the stock to be absorbed. Continue to repeat this process (adding stock and stirring to absorb) until the rice is nearing it's finished state of "al dente," at which point you can add less and less stock each installment. Keep cooking until the rice is soft to the bite with just a bit of give or chew. Stir in the divided butter, add the grated cheese, and add a little bit of salt/pepper/spice to your taste (keep in mind the pancetta is yet to be added and is quite salty). Portion evenly into bowls, add the slices of parmesan and the pancetta, top with a bit of the chiffonade basil and serve.


This dish goes very will with white wines, and can be served along side a meat entree or on it's own with rolls and a salad. I hope you get to try it and enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed creating it. Tell me about any changes you make and how you enjoyed or disliked them! I wish I could bring you a picture of this dish now, but I did not think of it at the time. Next time I prepare it I will make it a point to take a photo and add it to this post. Enjoy!
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Robin Garr

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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Robin Garr » Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:19 pm

Sounds excellent, Benton.

FYI, it's always okay to give a link to your sources. It only gets iffy when people start pro,outing their own businesses.

Another FYI, Lotsa Pasta in St. Matthews always has arborio, also carniroli and other varieties of risotto rice, so you can buy local with no waiting. Rainbow Blossom probably has it too, and Whole Foods, although that ain't local.
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Benton Thrasher

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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Benton Thrasher » Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:47 pm

Robin Garr wrote:Sounds excellent, Benton.

FYI, it's always okay to give a link to your sources. It only gets iffy when people start pro,outing their own businesses.

Another FYI, Lotsa Pasta in St. Matthews always has arborio, also carniroli and other varieties of risotto rice, so you can buy local with no waiting. Rainbow Blossom probably has it too, and Whole Foods, although that ain't local.


I haven't heard of those shops, although I did go to Whole Foods and couldn't find arborio. I found a few different short grains, which would all do fine for risotto, but I'm a little picky of my rice. I'll have to check those shops out for my next Italian night.
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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Robin Garr » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:33 pm

Benton Thrasher wrote:I haven't heard of those shops, .

go to Lotsa Pasta! Go as soon as you can! You will be very happy, I swear.

Lotsa Pasta
International Food Shop
3717 Lexington Road
Louisville, Ky 40207
Phone: 896-6361 * Fax: 896-6381
http://www.lotsapastalouisville.com/
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Benton Thrasher

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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Benton Thrasher » Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:23 am

Robin Garr wrote:
Benton Thrasher wrote:I haven't heard of those shops, .

go to Lotsa Pasta! Go as soon as you can! You will be very happy, I swear.

Lotsa Pasta
International Food Shop
3717 Lexington Road
Louisville, Ky 40207
Phone: 896-6361 * Fax: 896-6381
http://www.lotsapastalouisville.com/



I'll have to do that, I have been looking for an international shop for ages. The closest I've been able to come to is specialized "asian" or "indian" places, not true international. Thanks for the info Robin!
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Deb Hall

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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Deb Hall » Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:21 pm

Ditto Robin! I was going to suggest the same on sourcing the arborio, but you beat me to it.

Benton- Thanks for posting. I was just looking at a fine pancetta I bought at Mario Batali's Eatery in NY and wondering what I was going to do with it- this may be my answer.
If you like doing risotto, check out the carnaroli rice. It's the best rice for making risotto in my opinion. More expensive, but definitely worth it.

Deb
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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Benton Thrasher » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:25 pm

Deb Hall wrote:Ditto Robin! I was going to suggest the same on sourcing the arborio, but you beat me to it.

Benton- Thanks for posting. I was just looking at a fine pancetta I bought at Mario Batali's Eatery in NY and wondering what I was going to do with it- this may be my answer.
If you like doing risotto, check out the carnaroli rice. It's the best rice for making risotto in my opinion. More expensive, but definitely worth it.

Deb


Great Deb, I hope you give it a try! Let me know how it turns out if you change anything and if you enjoy it the way I hope you do. I will have to give carnaroli a try, I have seen it around but have only ever used arborio for my risotto and pudding.
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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Ken B » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:32 pm

I have to second Deb on the carnaroli. I think it is a quality control thing. 20 years ago if you got arborio, it was most likely very good quality, since there just wasn't as much of it imported. I won't go so far as to say everyone's cultivting arborio now, but there's a great deal more of it around. Carnaroli is grown in much smaller quantity, has less name appeal, etc.

Curious though, where did you get the pancetta?
The Wine Market
1200 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY
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Benton Thrasher

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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Benton Thrasher » Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:45 am

Ken, I think we got the pancetta at Frank's Meat Market on Preston, but my father is actually the one who picked it up. But the last time I needed some I believe I found it at Albertson's before they closed, so perhaps at Meijer's grocery or Whole Foods also?
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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Deb Hall » Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:30 am

Ken,
Kroger carries Boar's Head pancetta in their deli case,; Lotsa Pasta carries it too.They both are good.

Anybody gave a source for exceptional pancetta in town? I picked some p in travels but haven't run across it here.
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Re: Pancetta Risotto de Parmesan

by Ken B » Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:22 pm

I have been meaning to go to Frank's forever, just am not often over there. Will one of these days.
The Wine Market
1200 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY

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