Happy Magazine Monday!
Have you ever looked at a recipe, thought parts of it were ridiculous, and just decided to go rogue?
That’s what happened with this one.
There was a whole bunch of stuff about boiling corn cobs and corn stock and blenders and…the recipe sounded good, and I’ve always liked risotto, but a lot of it seemed…extraneous. So I made it into my own thing (sorry, Rachael Ray), and it turned out really, really good.
If you want to follow the original recipe, the original link is below, but this one is pretty stellar; the pesto brings it to a whole other level I wouldn’t have expected.
Also, it made a TON; I would recommend cutting down the rice by a cup unless you’re hosting your family reunion for 20 people and they’re all hungry.
Sweet Corn Risotto with Jalapeno Pesto
Makes 4-6 servings
Ingredients
6 cups vegetable stock (if you care about it being vegetarian…I used chicken stock.)
2 cans sweet corn
3 green onions, green and white sections separated, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 tsp. lime zest
1 Tbsp. lime juice
6 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cups Arborio (or jasmine) rice (if you don’t want to make a ton, 2 cups is fine.)
3 Tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper
In a large saucepan, combine the stock and the juice from the cans of corn plus as much water as it takes to make a total of 2 cups and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
In a food processor, puree the green onion greens, basil, jalapeno, lime juice, and 5 Tbsp. olive oil. Put the pesto in a bowl and salt and pepper to taste.
In a large pan, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add green onion whites and rice, stirring for about 2 minutes, until coated. Add the hot stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly to allow the rice to absorb the liquid between each addition until the rice is tender (but firm), and the risotto is creamy. This will take about 20 minutes.
Stir in the lime zest, butter, and 1 1/2 cans corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drizzle with pesto and serve.
