welcome to fall, dearies!
it’s the dearie families favorite time of year when the tree leaves changed to gorgeous colors of orange, yellow and red and the weather gets noticeably cooler and crisper. below are three easy and delicious recipes in regular rotation at the dearie cottage. all are aga-cooker friendly, but an aga is not required.
and please, please don’t be put off by the fancy sounding names! curries and risotto are actually very easy to make on a busy week night with minimal prep, relying on pantry and fridge & freezer staples. also, each recipe is vegetarian (two actually being vegan) though we’ll often add meat to the risotto and pepper sauce. (i’ve added notes where necessary.)
below you will find each recipe complete with photos and instructions for the following: pumpkin risotto, sweet potato curry, red pepper sauce.
bon appetite!
pumpkin risotto
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled & diced
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled & minced
1 pkg. (4 oz) chopped pancetta italian-style bacon (optional)
1 cup arborio rice, uncooked
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/8-1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated pecorino romano & parmasan cheese blend (at trader joes)
extra pecorino romano & parmasan for serving
fresh sage leaves, slivered, for garnish (optional)
pour 5 cups of broth into a pot and bring to a boil. set aside once boiling, but keep hot. tip: i typically use a 4 cup tetra pack of chicken broth (from trader joe’s) and make up the extra 1 cup needed by either adding 1 cup water or using 1 cup of instant chicken broth.
chop your onion and mince your garlic. add olive oil to a large saucepan at medium-high heat. add your onions and garlic to saucepan. saute in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. tip: if i’m adding pancetta, i add it with the onions and garlic and saute everything on medium-high heat for about ten minutes, stirring, occasionally.
keeping your saute pan on medium-high heat, add your aborio rice to the saucepan. mix to coat and let saute for 2-3 minutes.
set your pot of hot broth next to your saucepan and turn your saucepan burner from medium-high down to about medium. using a soup ladle, add 2 ladles of broth to your saucepan ingredients. using a wooden spoon, stir regularly to keep rice mixture from sticking to bottom of the pan. as the rice absorbs the broth and the mixture gets thicker, add another ladle or two of broth and repeat the same steps. repeating these steps to use up all the broth will take about 20-25 minutes. note: i have found that i don’t have to constantly stir this risotto for great results, and can prep a salad for dinner while periodically stirring and adding more broth to the risotto.
go ahead and add the tsp. of salt at some point while adding one of the ladles of broth!
once all the broth has been added, the mixture will be thicken but soupy in consistency. this is okay! don’t panic if it isn’t oatmeal thick. add your 1 cup of pumpkin puree to the rice & broth mixture. tip: a 14.5 oz can of pumpkin puree provides roughly 2 cups pumpkin. use one cup for the risotto and save the remaining cup instead of the sweet potatoes in the curry recipe below, or use it for a batch of pumpkin pancakes or waffles.
see? the pumpkin thickens things up very nicely and quickly! add your fresh ground nutmeg. tip: a nutmeg grinder is a worthy investment and/or a lovely gift for someone who loves to cook and bake. nutmeg grinders may be purchased from specialty and high-end kitchen shops and you can buy future nutmegs whole, in bulk.
remove your risotto from the stove and add 1 cup of grated cheese to the mixture, blending well. (adding cheese at the end is optional. if you want to keep this vegan, it’s still delicious without the cheese added.)
present risotto in bowls with more grated cheese on top.
serves 4-6 people
fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced, make a beautiful garnish atop the risotto and the cheese and the sage really brings out the pumpkin and nutmeg flavors! tip: pumpkin risotto reheats well for your work lunch the next day. that is, if there is any left! bonus tip: quickly frying the fresh sage leaves in a little very hot olive oil until crispy, makes an extra special and delicious garnish for this risotto!
sweet potato curry
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained
3 inch fresh ginger root, peeled & minced or 3-5 squares minced & frozen
3-5 garlic cloves, peeled & minced
1 medium yellow onion, peeled & chopped
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes or yams, peeled & chopped
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground cumin
4 tsp. curry powder
fresh cilantro for garnish, optional
plain yogurt or sour cream for garnish, optional
hot cooked white rice, optional
prep your garlic, onions and sweet potatoes: peel, chop and mince where specified, putting sweet potatoes in a separate bowl from the onions and garlic.
in a small soup pot on medium-high heat, add olive oil. once olive oil is hot, add garlic, onions and ginger. tip: i prefer to use frozen ginger cubes, available in your grocers freezer section. i buy them in multiples since we cook a lot with fresh ginger.
saute garlic, onions and ginger in hot oil for 2-3 minutes, then add 2 tsp. kosher salt. mix well, then add cumin and curry powder. mix well, again.
add your diced tomatoes, including the juice. add coconut milk, mix to blend. tip: you can use either coconut milk or coconut cream in this recipe!
add rinsed and drained garbanzo beans and chopped sweet potatoes, mix well, then place a lid on top. (you can swap the sweet potatoes for the remaining 1 cup of pumpkin from the risotto recipe above, too!)
cook on low to medium low temperature for 10-15 minutes, or until sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork. tip: the longer this curry cooks, the better it tastes! i’ve often made it and placed in the simmering oven for several hours until ready for dinner. this is probably a pretty friendly slow cooker recipe, too. just combine all the ingredients in the crockpot and let it cook on low all day!
serve the curry as a stew with either plain yogurt or sour cream and cilantro to garnish, or accompanied with hot cooked white rice.
this is, hands down, mr. dearie’s favorite dinner, especially when made with pork!
red pepper sauce
2 red bell peppers, stems removed, seeded and rough chopped
1 medium yellow onion, peeled & rough chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch of fresh, peeled ginger root or 2-3 frozen fresh cubes of minced ginger
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 lb. -1 lb. pork or boneless, cut into cubes or small pieces (optional)
6-8 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
juice of 1 lemon + water to make about 3/4 cup of liquid
hot cooked white basmati rice (2 cups water & 1 cup dry basmati rice)
fresh cilantro, chopped
hot garlic naan (indian flat bread)
for the rice: bring 2 cups of water in a medium pot to a boil. add rice, stir, place a lid on your pot and simmer rice for 20 minutes. (if you have an aga, bring water to a boil on the boiling plate, add rice, stir, lid it, then place in the simmering oven.) tip: always start your rice before cooking your sauce. this ensures the rice will be ready when your sauce it finished.
in a blender or food processor, add remaining ingredients except the olive oil, lemon juice and water. blend until you have a thick and well-mixed paste.
in your large saucepan, heat up oil on medium high heat until the oil shimmers. carefully add your pepper paste to the oil and fry for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce and oil has small bubbles around the edges of the saucepan.
add lemon juice + water to thin the paste into a sauce. add any meat, now, and place a lid on the top of the saucepan, reducing heat to medium. cook for at least 12 minutes, or until meat is cooked through. tip: when i add chicken, i throw in about 3-4 flash frozen chicken tenders (from trader joes) into the sauce. they cook up beautifully within about 15-20 minutes and i cut chicken into bite sized pieces while in the sauce before serving.
serve red pepper sauce over cooked white rice, garnished with fresh cilantro. hot garlic naan (indian flatbread) is a delicious accompaniment. tip: i like to buy garlic naan from trader joe’s that are 4 to a package. they heat up in under ten minutes in a hot oven and then can be cut in half or quarters to go further at a meal with more than four people.
good to know: the red pepper paste, minus the water & lemon juice, freezes well for future use, allowing you to take full advantage of when red peppers are in season and on special at the market. thaw the sauce in the fridge when ready to use and then follow the above instructions to fry the paste in oil. (don’t forget to start your rice beforehand!)