wasabi risotto

thanks to Abstract Gourmet i was inspired to make this dish!
which as it happens turned out fabulous and delicious! thankyou! =)
i havent made many risottos but he describes it well and it was easy enough for me!
i substituted white wine for sake and couldnt find the radish....mmmm...YUM!


Wasabi Risotto with Daikon & Pickled Ginger

taken directly from Abstract Gourmet

Ingredients

•Risotto Rice (I used Vialone nano which is shorter grained than Arborio or Carnaroli)
•Sake (as part of the stock, and for the flavouring)
•Fish broth (combined with water and sake to use as the stock)
•Leek
•Onion
•Red Cabbage
•Daikon (or Chinese Radish)
•Wasabi (I didn’t have fresh wasabi, so just used some paste)
•Japanese “Kewpie” Mayonnaise
•Lemon juice
•Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

Make the risotto as you would any risotto. Feel free to check out my indepth analysis of the risotto making process in one of my other recipes. The difference in this recipe is that we’re using sake instead of white wine to start with, and we’re adding the wasabi flavour at the end.
So start of the onion and leek in some butter to soften. Then coat the rice with the mixture and let it simmer and absorb heat for a minute. Now add a cup of sake to start with and let that absorb before adding the fish stock/sake mixture a ladel full at a time as you would any risotto.

I added the cabbage mid way through the process to make sure it was nice and soft, and I added the daikon right at the end to keep a little of the crunchy texture. The wasabi flavour was then made by combining the wasabi paste, japanese mayonaisse, sake, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil together and mixing really well. The wasabi is very strong… So i wanted to keep the flavour whilst toning down the sinus clearing qualities it’s often known for.

The result was a creamy pale green wasabi flavoured couli/paste/purée/sauce (mental note: look up the proper term for various forms of sauce). It had all the flavour of the wasabi with only a little of the “oh my god, that wasn’t a piece of avocado I just ate with my sushi” pain inducing after effects.

I mixed this through the risotto just prior to finishing, which gave it a nice glossy creamy finish. Then topped with a few slices of pickled ginger, daub some of the wasabi sauce around the place, and c’est fini !