I am still up 5 lbs. and still coming off the high of eating aaaall the things in Italy last month. The memory is too romantic to not keep it going. Risotto is like a love affair; so wrong, yet so right. I actually didn’t get to have any risotto in while I was there, and I feel deprived. Time to remedy this! Rice and ground beef are both so versatile, but can both get really boring, am I right? This is a fun way to re-purpose house staples in a rich, creamy, unctuous, crispy way. Also, don’t we all have enough CSA broccoli this time of year to require such a creative derivation?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 (or 50) cloves garlic, minced
- 1 head broccoli, stem removed. Cut into very small florets
- 40 oz-ish Beef stock
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s Umami (optional, but freaking yum)
- Panko
- 8 oz mozzarella (I like fresh buffalo) cut into 1cm cubes
Procedure:
- Toast arborio rice over medium high heat, turning constantly to avoid burning.
- Add ground beef and onion, and brown, turning constantly.
- Add white wine, keep stirring.
- Add beef stock one cup at a time as rice absorbs the liquid…
- Add garlic and broccoli. Yes, keep stirring. Now is the time to add the Umami spice if you are into that, otherwise, add a little bit of salt and pepper.
- When the broccoli and rice are tender, remove from heat and let cool down to touch temp.
- Pull 2 inch balls of the risotto mixture and make a depression that you can push the mozzarella into. Wrap the filling around it.
- Roll in panko bread crumbs (they make gluten free panko now!) and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes or until brown.
- Another option would be to pan fry the panko colored balls until golden brown.
- Serve with a pesto style sauce (also available at rainshadoworganics.com).
Cheers!
-@theprimalfocus
