Hummus

Goodbye Tessa, it's been a pleasure!  This is the last Tessa Kiros themed week at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  Although I jumped on the bandwagon only for the last several months, I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering the food of Tessa's family and ancestral heritage.  There are so many recipes that I have ear marked in her books that I own Twelve - A Tuscan Cook Book  and Falling Cloudberries.  These cookbooks won't be collecting dust on the shelf, trust me.

The final recipe I chose is Tessa's Hummus from Falling Cloudberries.  Hummus is one of those snacks you don't feel guilty about eating.  Once you learn to make your own you'll never spend money on it at the market again.  It's especially easy when you use canned chickpeas.

Here's what we start with:  chickpeas (that are in the bowl that I guess I thought everyone could see through), garlic, tahini, lemons, olive oil and paprika.

You can find prepared tahini at your market but I enjoy making my own.  Tahini is simply roasted sesame seeds and extra virgin olive oil.  It only took a couple of minutes to prepare the amount in the Mason jar that you see here.

I'm using canned chickpeas this time around (so much faster!).  Drain them but be sure to reserve the liquid; you may want to use some toward the end of the recipe.

Crush the clove of garlic and, using a little salt, create a paste.  I do this by mincing the garlic as fine as I can get it, sprinkling it with salt and then scraping and mashing it back and forth with the flat of my knife.

Put the chickpeas, tahini and garlic in a blender or processor.  I used the processor but a blender gives it a smoother texture.  I ended up going back with an immersible blender to smooth mine up.

Process until crumbly.  Season with a little salt and then add the lemon juice and process until nice and smooth.

Pour into a small bowl and thoroughly mix in the olive oil.  If it's a bit dry add a little of the reserved chickpea liquid.  Taste to determine if it needs more salt.  Sprinkle with the paprika.

There are so many ways to serve Hummus.  You're not limited to the traditional pita bread.  I like to eat it with crudites.  Sometimes I just grab and spoon and enjoy.  Tessa writes that she especially likes the hummus heaped onto some crusty bread together with slices of juicy tomato and an extra drizzling of olive oil and some salt. Y-U-M!!

Here's how I made my tahini:
On a jelly roll pan, in a 350°F. oven, roast 2 cups sesame seeds (you can find them roasted in the store as well).  Roast for about 5 - 10 minutes but watch that they don't get too brown.  Let them cool on the pan for about 20 minutes.

Pour the sesame seeds into a food processor bowl and add a little less than 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.  Blend for 2 minutes.  The consistency you are after is a smooth, thick mixture but pourable.  Add more oil and blend if it is too thick.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  It should last about 3 months.

Hummus
From Tessa Kiros' Falling Cloudberries'

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups chickpeas or 1 (16 ounce) can chickpeas
1 large garlic clove
3 Tbsp tahini
juice of 2 lemons
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Mise en place:

• if using dried chickpeas soak them overnight; if using canned, drain reserving the liquid
• Crush garlic into paste
• measure out tahini
• juice the lemons
• measure out olive oil

Method:
If you are not using canned chickpeas, drain the soaked chickpeas into a saucepan, cover generously with water, and bring to a boil.  Cook over medium-high heat for about 1-1/2 hours, until they are softened.  Drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid.  Pass the chickpeas through a large-holed sieve to remove their skins.

Crush the garlic with a little salt until if forms a purée.  Put the chickpeas, tahini, and garlic in a blender, purée a little, and then season with salt.  Add the lemon juice and continue puréeing until smooth.  Scrape out into a bowl and thoroughly mix in the olive oil.  If it's a bit too dry, add some of the reserved chickpea liquid.  Check that there is enough salt.  Sprinkle with the paprika and drizzle with a little more oil if you like.  Hummus will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.


I'm sharing this post at IHCC.

Herbed Olive Oil

In honor of St. Patrick's day this week, the theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is Go Green.  I wanted to make something that I can definitely use in my kitchen and that would be herbed olive oil.  I chose this recipe from Tessa Kiros' cookbook Twelve, A Tuscan Cook Book.  In Tuscany they call it Smicca; olive oil infused with fresh rosemary, sage and garlic.

Tessa suggests that it is worth making a large amount as it keeps for a long time if the herbs remain covered with the oil.  Since it is only Lovey and myself at home, I halved the recipe (as I do with so many these days).  Smear it all over a nice chicken for roasting and you can jazz up your roasted potatoes as well by giving them a nice toss with the oil before placing them in the oven.  Spread some of the oil mixed with diced tomatoes on some toasted ciabatta bread for a nice bruschette.  You can get really creative with this stuff.

Wash your rosemary and sage and leave to dry overnight on some paper towels.

Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and remove any tough stalks from the sage sprigs.  Peel your garlic and coarsely chop (if you go the blender route).  Drop them into your blender and pulse-chop.  My blender didn't do as good a job as I would have liked on the rosemary leaves but it chopped most of them fine and the leaves left whole were at least bruised and beat up enough to release their essence.  If you do this by hand, chop them very finely.

I put my herbs in a Mason jar (because I love storing all things in Mason jars) and added a good pinch of salt.

Add a good quality olive oil and stir it up.  Let it settle overnight then check to make sure all of the herbs are still covered.

Store in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator.  I'm keeping mine on my pantry shelf with it's cousins.

Smicca - Herbed Olive Oil
From Twelve by Tessa Kiros
Makes 1litre (4 cups)

Ingredients:
4-1/2 ounces rosemary sprigs
3-1/2 ounces sage sprigs
4 garlic cloves garlic
about 3 cups olive oil

Mise en Place:

• rinse rosemary and sage and allow to dry, preferably overnight
• strip leaves from rosemary and sage sprigs
• peel garlic
• measure olive oil

Method:
Chop the sage, rosemary leaves and the garlic very finely by hand, or pulse-chop in a blender.  Place in a jar, lightly salt and cover with oil.  Stir through.  Leave it overnight to settle, then check that the herbs are completely covered with oil.  Add a little more oil if necessary.  Store in a closed jar in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator.  This will keep for several months - just keep topping it up with olive oil.

I'm sharing this at IHCC

Avgolemono

It's all about citrus at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week.  I selected smooth, puckery and yummy Avgolemono; that's chicken soup with egg and lemon.  The first time I ever tasted this soup was in 1982.  Lovey and I were visiting a high school friend, Victoria, who was living in Monument, Colorado.  The grandmother of the man she was married to at the time was from Greece and she showed Vicki how to make this soup.  We were sitting in her kitchen watching her create this soup and I had never seen or heard of anything like it.  It was so tasty we could have eaten the whole pot!  Actually, I think we did; in that one sitting.

I've had Avgolemono many time since and although Vicki gave me the recipe way back then, this is the first time I have ever made this soup.  And I'm not using Vicki's, but Tessa Kiros' recipe from her Falling Cloudberries cookbook.

The main work, time and effort is to poach your chicken.

Rinse your chicken and place it in a large pot with and onion, celery stalk that has lots of leaves, a carrot, salt and a couple of peppercorns.  These vegetables are going to be tossed so there's no reason to peel the carrot or onion.  You do want to make sure they are clean though; and I do slice off the ends of the onion.

Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer and about an hour and a half.  With a slotted spoon, skim the surface periodically.

When the chicken is done, remove to a plate and set aside.

Strain the broth through a sieve then press the vegetables with the back of a spoon so you don't miss all the yummy flavor the vegetables have to offer. 

Return the broth to the pot and add the rice.  Cook until the rice is done. 

Lastly, you add the magic.  But it's simple magic.  Just whip two eggs in a small bowl until they are light and fluffy.  Add the juice from two lemons and whisk together.  Temper the egg mixture by drizzling a ladle full of the hot broth into the eggs while whisking.  When I'm tempering an egg mixture like this I usually use several ladlefuls to make sure the mixture is warmed up enough to add to the pot.

Stir the tempered egg mixture back into the pot and enjoy the creaminess of this rich, delicious soup.  I put some shredded chicken in the bottom of our bowls then ladled the soup on top.

Tessa comments that you could easily add some thyme sprigs or other herbs to inauthentically infuse the broth of this classic Greek soup.


Avgolemono (Chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon)
Adapted from Tessa Kiros' Falling Cloudberries

Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) whole chicken
1 white onion
1 celery stalk with leaves
1 large carrot
a few parsley stalks
a few black peppercorns
1-1/2cup long-grain rice, rinsed
2 eggs
juice of 2 lemons

MIse en place

• rinse chicken
• clean vegetables
• measure out rice
• crack eggs into small mixing bowl
• juice 2 lemons

Method
Place chicken in a large stockpot with the onion, celery, carrot, parsley stalks, peppercorns and a good sprinkling of salt.  Cover with about 14 cups of cold water and bring to a boil.  Skim the surface with a slotted spoon, decrease the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 1-1/2 hours, skimming occasionally.  Lift the chicken out onto a plate with a slotted spoon.  Strain the broth through a sieve, pressing down lightly on the vegetables with your wooden spoon to extract the flavor.  You should have about 6 cups of broth.  Return this to the saucepan, add the rice and cook over medium heat for another 15 minutes or so, until the rice is cooked.

Whisk the eggs until they are fluffy.  Add the lemon juice.  Add a ladleful of hot broth to the egg, whisking to stop it from scrambling.  Whisk in a little more broth, then add the entire egg mixture to the pan.  Return the saucepan to the lowest possible heat for a few minutes to warm the egg through.  Add some salt and pepper and serve immediately.  If you like, shred one of the chicken breasts and scatter over the soup.  Serve the rest of the chicken as a second course.

I'm sharing this at IHCC.

Zucchini alla griglia

Wednesday evening I slathered a roasting chicken with Moroccan preserved lemons and threw it in the oven for dinner.  Roasting a chicken is such a great, easy dinner.  Once it's in the oven you're free to do other things.  My "thing" that day was to work in the garden.  I took a day of vacation since the weather was to be so beautiful.

Another great thing about roasting a chicken is it never has to be the same.  Whatever I have in the refrigerator at the time gets thrown into the pot with it.  But, this is not about the chicken.  It's about what I made to accompany the chicken for dinner.

It is Lighten Up week at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week.  I selected a grilled zucchini recipe from Tessa Kiros' Twelve cookbook.  It was easy, light and paired great with the lemony chicken.

Zucchini alla griglia - Grilled Zucchini
Adapted from Tessa Kiros' Twelve-A Tuscan Cookbook

Ingredients:
3 medium-large zucchini (courgettes)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
about 6 basil leaves

Mise en place:

• wash and dry zucchini
• measure out olive oil
• peel garlic cloves and lightly crush with the flat of a knife blade
• roughly tear up basil leaves

Method:
Divide the zucchini into half horizontally, then cut into vertical slices about 1/8-inch thick.  Put them onto the grill about 8 inches away from the coals and grill for a couple of minutes on each side until they are cooked through and grill marks appear.  Transfer them to a bowl.  Add the olive oil, garlic, basil leaves and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Tessa says this recipe may be eaten immediately, or left to marinate for a few hours.

I'm sharing this post at IHCC

Pesche al vino bianco

Pink was the theme this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  Out of the two Tessa Kiros books I own, I struggled with what to make that was pink. 

I settled on Peaches in white wine from Tessa's Twelve cookbook, with the hopes that the white wine would take on a pinkish color from the peaches.  Didn't happen.

Failing didn't get me down once I tasted this, in Tessa's words, "...very simple, refreshing dessert..".  I will be bringing this one back in the hot days of summer.

 All you do with this recipe is place peeled peaches (or nectarines) in a bowl with castor sugar and let macerate in the refrigerator.

After about an hour, pour in your white wine and put back in the refrigerator to chill.

Pesche al vino bianco - Peaches in White Wine

Ingredients:

8 medium sized, ripe, firm peaches, peeled

10-1/2 ounces castor (superfine) sugar

2 cups chilled white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)

Mise en Place:

• Peel peaches and slice
• measure out sugar and wine

Method:

If you can halve the peaches and remove the stone without squashing the peaches before slicing them, then do so (best to use freestone peaches for this).  If the peaches are a little soft, cut thick slices toward the stone, then cut those slices away from the stone.  Put the slices into a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar.  Cover and leave in the fridge to macerate for at least an hour or so.

Add the wine, gently toss the peaches and return to the fridge for another 15 minutes before eating the peaches and drinking the remaining wine.

I'm sharing this over at IHCC

Pane al rosmarino e olio

It's been rather chilly and damp in the DFW area and soups seem to call out to me during this kind of weather.  Last week was another potluck week at IHCC (I'm late posting this) and I selected a bread to go along with a beef barley soup I made.

Tessa Kiros' Bread with Rosemary and Olive Oil is from her Twelve cookbook.  Tessa says that this recipe is a variation on the unsalted white Tuscan bread that's generally made where she lives.  She also mentions you can make small individual rolls with this recipe.

It was easy, quick and the texture is as soft as white Wonder Bread.

It is also great toasted with a big chunk of butter slathered on it.  Mmmmm...excuse me.  I think I'll go cut me another slice.

Pane al rosmarino e olio - Bread with rosemary and olive oil

Ingredients:
1 ounce rosemary sprigs
1 ounce fresh yeast (I used 1/2 oz. active dry yeast since I didn't have fresh)
a pinch of sugar
1-1/4 cups tepid water
1 pound 2 ounces bread flour
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Mise en Place:

• strip the rosemary leaves off the stems and discard the stems
• measure out remaining ingredients

Method:
Put the yeast into a bowl with the pinch of sugar.  Stir in the water and leave it to activate.

Put the flour into a large, wide bowl or onto your work surface .  Add the yeast, most of the rosemary, the salt and most of the olive oil, and mix well to incorporate.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth, compact, elastic ball.  (I used my Kitchen Aid bowl and used the flat paddle to incorporate then the dough hook for kneading).  Add a few more drops of water or a little more flour if necessary to achieve this consistency.

Put the dough into a bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1-1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Dust your work surface lightly with flour.  Divide the dough into halves or leave whole, and shape into ovals or rounds (I made 1 large loaf).  You can also make small, individual rolls by breaking off chunks of the dough and rolling them into balls.  Sprinkle the tops with the remaining rosemary and drizzle with the remaining oil.

Dust a baking tray with flour and put the bread loaf(ves) onto the baking tray, allowing for some space between each loaf for spreading.  Use two trays if necessary, and cover the bread loosely with a cloth.  Leave in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour until the loaves have risen. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas 6).  Put the baking tray into the hot oven and bake for about 35 minutes, until the top is golden.  The bottoms of the loaves should be golden and sound hollow when tapped.

Remove to a rack to cool slightly before serving.  When cool, the bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for future use.

Salmon Ceviche with Cilantro, Chili, and Lime

It is "some like it hot - and spicy" week a IHCC.  Since Mr. C., or as I like to call him - Lovey, does not like anything spicy, I knew I'd have to find one of Tessa Kiros' recipes that I could easily half and take to work with me for my lunch.

 I chose this ceviche recipe.  I love ceviche and I love all these ingredients so the selection was an easy one.  The lime, ginger and cilantro flavors with the light, delicate texture and flavor of the Coho Salmon were a perfect pairing.

The recipe halved easily but I could have used the original amount of red chile peppers for a little spicier dish.  Perhaps if I had left the veins there would have been more heat.



 Notice I'm wearing my food gloves that I love to use in the kitchen?  I suggest using these in so many ways when cooking, and especially when working with chiles and peppers since they have oils that can burn your skin and especially your eyes. 

 This was so easy to prepare.  Take care to mix it up in a nonreactive bowl.  Since I made this dish to take to work the next day, I stored it in a Ball jar for easy transporting.

Tessa states that this is even good the next day so I had no problem making it the night before.  She also suggested a lovely way to serve it with some firm green leaves and sliced red onions as a salad or with boiled potatoes.  For myself, I just ate it out of the jar at my desk and it was yummy!

Salmon Ceviche With Cilantro, Chili, and Lime

Adapted from "Falling Cloudberries" by Tessa Kiros

Serves 4 to 6 - Note: this is the full recipe as in the book

Ingredients:

1-1/4 pounds skinned salmon fillet

Juice of 4 limes

2 or 3 red chiles

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

2 garlic cloves

1-1/2 inch piece of ginger

Mise en Place:

• skin and remove any bones from the salmon
• juice limes
• seed and finely chop the chiles
• chop cilantro
• peel  & finely chop garlic cloves
• peel and grate fresh ginger

Method:

Slice salmon fillet into pieces about 1/2 inch thick and put in a wide, nonreactive bowl.

Pour the lime juice, chile, cilantro, cumin, and garlic over the fish and season with salt and pepper.  Take the grated ginger between your fingers and firmly squeeze the juice over the salmon (discard the pulp that's left).  Mix gently, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

I'm sharing this recipe at IHCC

Beef Casserole With Carrots, Onions, and Cream

This week's IHCC theme is a potluck choice of any recipe from one of Tessa Kiros' cookbooks.  I selected a beef dish from her book Falling Cloudberries.  Tessa writes that this is an adaptation from a popular Finnish dish called Karelian stew.  She also points out that you can add a few fresh herbs or other spices to the pot and even use a mixture of meats (veal, beef, and pork).

It couldn't have been easier and goes to prove that a good tasting meal can be derived from the simplest of ingredients.  And speaking of ingredients, here is the cast of characters for this recipe.

Topside of beef, carrots, onion, parsley, bay leaf, allspice, and cream.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could purchase tiny bundles of parsley instead of  huge amounts? 

 

Throw everything except the parsley and cream into a heavy casserole.  The recipe calls for 8 allspice berries.  I only had ground allspice so I closed my eyes and imagined what 8 berries would look like after I ground them up; then I measured out a teaspoon and threw it in the pot.  As you can tell, I'm very scientific in my methods.

Next, pour about 3 cups of water or enough to come 3/4 of the way up the side of the meat.

Cover the casserole and bake at 350°F. for about two hours.  Turn the meat a couple of times during that period.

After two hours the meat should be very tender.  Remove the meat to a resting plate and cover with foil.  Discard the bay leaf and berries (if you actually had berries).  Remove the carrots and onion and measure out 3 cups of the liquid.  My liquid actually measure out to exactly 3 cups.

I admit I became somewhat giddy when I read the instructions to use a food mill to pureé the carrots and onions.  I love this kitchen tool of mine and I don't use it a lot.  However, it was just not happening with the onions; I wasn't getting the result I wanted.

So I dumped it all in the blender with a little bit of the juices and pureéd until it was smooth.

I whisked the pureé into the cooking liquid (that I had poured into a small saucepan) and added the parsley and cream.  While that was heating up I sliced the meat and plated it up with some egg noodles.  As instructed I ate the sauce like it was soup poured lots and lots of sauce over the meat as well as the noodles.

Beef Casserole With Carrots, Onions,and Cream

Adapted from "Falling Cloudberries" by Tessa Kiros

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

3-1/4 pound piece of lean silverside or topside of beef

2 large carrots

1 large red onion

About 8 Allspice Berries (I used 1 tsp ground Allspice)

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Mise en Place:

• rinse and pat dry the beef
• peel carrots and cut in 1-1/2 to 2 inch chunks
• peel onion and cut into quarters
• chop parsley
• measure out cream
• measure 3 cups of water

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Put all the ingredients except the cream and parsley into a heavy casserole dish and add about 3 cups of water, or enough to come about three quarters up the side of the meat.

Cover the casserole dish and bake for about 2 hours, turning the meat over a couple of times until it is really soft.  Remove from the oven.  Lift out the carrots and onions with a slotted spoon and pass them through the fine disk of a food mill, or pureé them (I pureéd mine in the blender).  Discard the bay leaf and allspice berries from the casserole.  Remove the meat from the casserole and keep warm.

Measure about 3 cups of the cooking liquid and return this with the pureéd vegetables to the casserole (you can freeze any leftover cooking broth for another use).  (Note:  my liquid actually measured out to exactly 3 cups).  Add the parsley and cream to the liquid and heat through.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Serve the beef in thick slices and serve with a lot of sauce poured over it.

I am sharing this recipe over at IHCC



Risotto con zucchini

Aside from being one of the most delicious dishes on earth, there are several other reasons I love risotto.  The possibilities of what you can add to it are endless;  it can be a side dish or your main entreé;  it's an easy technique; and, it's the perfect therapy for those cooks who feel the urge to stir the pot every nanosecond.

I'm cooking another recipe from this beautiful cookbook "Twelve ~ A Tuscan Cook Book"  by Tessa Kiros.  It's 'Rice is Nice' week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  If you pop over there you can read all about Tessa and see what the other gals selected for this week's recipe.

Here we have all of our ingredients ready to go.  The stock is on the burner getting hot.  Ready to throw in the other bit pot are the onions, garlic, zucchini, parsley, basil, arborio rice, wine, butter, and Parmesan cheese.

 In hot olive oil, sauté the onion until it begins to soften

 Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute

 Toss in your zucchini and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat with the olive oil.  Toss in half of the parsley and basil and combine.

 Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon, which will become your best friend, so that the rice is coated with the oil.  Let cook for a couple of minutes.  Pour the wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. 

A little side note here...  see this little gadget attached to the rim of the dutch oven?  It's one of my favorites and is the handiest little thing ever to hold your cooking utensil!!  Christanne & Char are always giving me fun and useful gadgets for the kitchen.   Okay, back to cooking.

 Begin to add stock to the rice a ladle or two at a time.  Stir with your wooden spoon, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so the rice doesn't stick.  When the rice has absorbed all the liquid, add some more ladle by ladle.  See how there is still liquid when I push my spoon across the bottom of the pot?

 Now, see how the liquid has absorbed?  It's magic.

 Once your rice has reached the consistency that you want, which is creamy, yet slightly firm and a little bit of liquid left, you can finish off your risotto.  Stir in the butter, Parmesan cheese and the remaining parsley and basil leaves.

See how creamy this is?  Delicious!  Here's the recipe for you.

Risotto con Zucchini
Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 cups vegetable stock
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium white onion, peeled & finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled & finely chopped
1 pound, 5 ounces small zucchini (courgettes) trimmed & finely sliced
a handful of chopped fresh parsley
about 6 basil leaves, roughly torn
1 pound, 2 ounces risotto rice
1 cup white wine
1-3/4 ounce butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Mise en Place:

• Pour stock in large pot and begin heating on stove
• chop onion
• chop garlic
• slice zucchini
• chop parley
• tear basil
• measure out your wine, butter and Parmesan

Method:
Heat the stock in a saucepan on the stovetop.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed separate saucepan suitable for risotto, and add the onion.  Sauté until it has softened slightly, then add the garlic.

Sauté for another minute.  Add the zucchini slices, season with salt and pepper, and cook on a gentle heat for a few minutes.  Toss in half of the chopped parsley and basil.  Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat with a wooden spoon, cooking for a minute or two.

Add the wine and when it has evaporated, add a ladleful or two of hot stock.  Stir, taking care to move all the rice at the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking.  When the rice has absorbed the liquid, add more stock and stir.

Continue in this way until the rice has achieved the right consistency, which should be creamy, yet slightly firm and a little liquid.  If you run out of broth, continue with hot water.  Taste the risotto after 20 minutes -- it may need another 5 minutes or so.

Stir in the butter, Parmesan cheese, the remaining parsley and basil leaves.  Serve immediately with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

I am sharing this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs