At the writing of this post, we are deep into zucchini season. Our gardens are filled with them. They are at their nutritional peak, and National Zucchini Day is just around the corner – August 8, in case you don’t have it marked on your calendar of important events. 🙂
These potassium-filled juicy green vegetables can be found in markets, gardens, and left on the doorsteps of unsuspecting neighbors when they become too abundant. Case in point = this too funny post by Mavis Butterfield.
Sadly, I have no zucchini-filled garden, but I am the happy recipient of this bounty. So in my house, I have been concentrating energies on making our garden fresh zucchini taste different every time we eat it.
A few evenings ago, my lovely daughter asked, “Do we have any zucchini?” Resisting the urge to reply, “Are you kidding me? Do you not live here?”, I pointed her toward the kitchen. About 45 minutes later, she had created the most elevated dish of the season – from our kitchen anyway – a delicious creamy, rich, take-you-to-Northern-Italy zucchini risotto.
Sadly, we ate it all quickly and took no pictures. But because this dish is just too luxurious and indulgent to not share, and maybe you could use another zucchini recipe for your dinner table, I googled an image (below). This image appears to be an image without a recipe. And since I have a recipe, or method, without an image, I thought they belonged together.
Stephanie’s Creamy Zucchini Risotto
Ingredients
- olive oil or butter, about 1-2 T
- diced onion, about 1/4 c, or onion powder, to taste
- arborio rice, about one cup
- chicken broth, about 3 cups
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional: Parmesan cheese
Method
My daughter used homemade chicken broth – so much flavor. And she added large diced zucchini so we got bursts of zucchini flavor contrasted by creamy buttery risotto.
She toasted about one cup of arborio rice in olive oil, butter, and onion (diced), then added chopped zucchini. On low heat, she began adding heated chicken broth in several stages, a little at a time, stirring, and letting the rice slowly drink in the broth.
Season, mmmm. Cook until creamy and delicious. You will know. Risotto should be creamy. It should not hold its shape.
If desired, add a little Parmesan.
Risotto making tips:
- Do not wash your rice. You need the starch.
- Heat the broth before adding it to the rice
- Plan to babysit this rice, nurturing it gently, and stirring, until it is cooked
- Each grain of rice should have a firm texture, but the starches should develop creaminess in the dish so that it does not hold its shape
- Taste as you go. Trust your palate.
Enjoy!
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