Roasted Cauliflower Risotto

Well, I tried my hand at risotto today. It turned out okay, but I made a few mistakes, and I definitely should leave this to the pros. I found this recipe in this month's Food Network Magazine and I got excited because I LOVE cauliflower.

Food Network claims this recipe is easy and should take 40 minutes. Okay. Maybe for people who know what they are doing. It took me a little over an hour total, and I thought it was tricky.

One thing to keep in mind - for whoever tries this - when you cut the cauliflower...you need to use both the florets and the stems and keep them separate. The way the recipe is worded in the magazine doesn't really make that clear and I ended up combining them. It didn't ruin the recipe, just made it slightly different. So when I list the ingredients below, I am listing those as 2 separate things, unlike what Food Network did.


Ingredients

* 1 head cauliflower - 2 ways
florets cut into 1/2-inch pieces
stems chopped
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1/4 cup sliced almonds
* 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 1/2 cups short-grain Italian rice (such as arborio or vialone nano)
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 4 ounces Italian fontina cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups) - I used light mozzarella.
* 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley (I used 1/4 cup of dried parsley)


Directions

Cut up cauliflower and separate florets and stems.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F.

Toss the cauliflower florets with 1 tablespoon olive oil on a baking sheet. Spread in a single layer and season with salt and pepper.

Roast on the upper oven rack, 5 minutes. Add the almonds and roast until the cauliflower is tender, about 15 more minutes.


Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat.

Add the onion and cauliflower stems and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.


Add the broth, 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt; cover and bring to a boil. Transfer the pot to the lower oven rack and bake until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.


Remove the rice from the oven and add the butter, fontina (mozzarella) and parsley, stirring vigorously until the risotto is creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Divide among bowls and top with the roasted cauliflower and almonds.



So... my mistakes. First, I had a brain fart and I used a double boiler for a few steps until I realized it wasn't my dutch oven. (Dutch oven is like, a deep skillet). That didn't really hurt anything... when I started putting the wine in I realized and just dumped everything into the dutch oven.

Second mistake... I didn't cover the dutch oven when the water and broth were waiting to boil. Oops. But I covered it for a few minutes longer on the heat before putting it in the oven.

When it was ready, it seemed a little less creamy than in the picture in the magazine (and on the website here) but it still tasted delicious!

My husband tried some as well (this was being made for later in the week) and he said it was good.

So...my recipe attempt didn't fail, but it was work and not as easy and they claim. Maybe I will leave risotto to the pros!