Now risotto is not generally considered a main course...Italians usually eat it as a “primo piatto” or first course (after the antipasti but before the main course, “segundo piatto”). Primo piatto usually consists of some type of pasta, soup, or polenta, and rarely contains meat. But I love preparing risotto as a main course, both with and without meat, because a) I don’t often find myself cooking multi-course Italian feasts (although I have!) and b) I always want to eat an entree’s worth of it!
For this dish I wanted to incorporate braised pork with mushrooms and creamy risotto...doesn’t that combo sound delicious? There are plenty of “pork risotto” recipes on the internet, but most of them call for quick-cooking cuts like pork loin or chops. I was envisioning silky, tender braised pork and how well that would pair with perfectly al dente but creamy rice. Oh, and I wanted to use my slow-cooker. More on that in a minute....
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| Mise en Place |
Now let's get to the part about NOT actually using the slow cooker. I thought, what could be easier than risotto in the slow cooker? It only takes about 90 minutes to cook, you don't have to do all that stirring that you normally do...what could go wrong? Turns out, a lot. My risotto dish came out flavorful, delicious, comforting...but the consistency? It was NOT right. It was clumpy. It was sticky. It was NOT true risotto, which should glide easily from your spoon to your plate like a wave: "all'onda" as the Italians say. So here's my advice to you...cook your risotto the traditional way, in a pot, and just commit yourself to 30-45 minutes of stirring. It's worth it. You'll love it. Your friends and family will call you their hero.
My pictures here show my slow cooker because that's how I made it, but the instructions below tell you how to make the risotto in a pot on the stove. I recommend using a heavy pot like a dutch oven, but any large pot (not a small sauce pot) will do.
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| Braise your Pork |
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| Fork Tender, Silky, Delicious! |
If you want to make this recipe a little less "hands-on", you can braise the pork in your slow cooker or in your dutch oven (in the oven) and make your gremolata during the day, and then cook the risotto in the evening. No need to wash the dutch oven in between...you can use it through all the steps and benefit from the fond and flavor you build up in it from start to finish.
ALSO!!! Scroll through to the bottom to see how you can use up your leftover Risotto!!!! BONUS!
Mushroom Risotto with Braised Pork, Crispy Pancetta, and Gremolata
Yield: 6-8
This recipe combines silky braised pork with mushroom risotto, topped with a citrusy gremolata and fried pancetta.
ingredients:
Braised Pork
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, small dice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
- 1/4 C mixed dried mushrooms
- 1/4 C dry Italian white wine
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder/butt or blade steaks
- 1 C chicken stock (homemade or no-sodium)
Gremolata
- 1 large clove garlic
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 C flat-leaf parsley (loosely packed, a large handful)
Risotto
- Reserved solids and liquid from braising pork (see instructions below)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms (aka baby bellas), sliced
- 1 3/4 C Arborio rice (short grain, starchy)
- 1/2 C dry Italian white wine
- Chicken stock, amount depends on how much cooking liquid you have left over from pork (total should be 4 Cups)
- Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, grated
- 100 g thinly sliced pancetta
- Lemon, cut into eighths
instructions:
How to cook Mushroom Risotto with Braised Pork, Crispy Pancetta, and Gremolata
Braised Pork (using the slow cooker is okay for this part):
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a dutch oven, or in your slow cooker if it has a sauté function, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 6 minutes.
- Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 more seconds.
- Stir in dried mushrooms well, then turn up heat and add wine. Simmer until wine is mostly evaporated.
- Season pork generously with salt and pepper (use less salt if your stock is already salted), and rub with paprika. Brown all sides of your pork, without crowding your pan if you have multiple pieces, about 3 minutes per side. Redistribute solids in pan and place pork on top, then pour chicken broth over everything.
- Bring liquid to a boil, then cover your pot and transfer to the oven (or transfer contents to your slow cooker, if using, and set to low). Cook pork until fork tender, 45 min - 1 hour in the oven or 3-4 hours in the slow cooker on low.
- Once pork is ready, remove meat from pot and shred with two forks. Set aside.
- Strain cooking liquid into fat separator or into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. Set aside both the liquid and the solids, separately.
- DON'T BOTHER WASHING YOUR DUTCH OVEN! You can use it for making your risotto.
Gremolata
- Place all listed ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chopped and combined, but still chunky. You can also chop all of this together on a cutting board with a chef's knife for the same result.
Risotto
- In previously used pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sliced fresh mushrooms, stir initially, and cook for 3 minutes without stirring. After 3 minutes, stir mushrooms with wooden spoon and scrape up browned bits in the bottom of your pan. Continue cooking mushrooms until tender, about 2 minutes more. Add reserved solids from braising pork and stir to combine everything.
- Lower heat to medium. Add rice to pot and stir well to coat grains. Toast for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Increase heat to medium-high again, and add wine. Bring wine to a boil and cook until almost completely evaporated.
- Combine pork cooking liquid with enough chicken stock to equal 4 Cups. Lower heat to medium again. Add 1/2-1 Cup of liquid at a time, stirring well to incorporate all ingredients and to release the starch from the rice. When most of the liquid is absorbed, add more liquid and stir stir stir to continue releasing starch and helping rice to absorb liquid. Continue this pattern until your rice is completely tender, starchy, and your liquid is absorbed. You will use 3-4 Cups of liquid total, but if more is needed, use more.
- Once your rice is tender, take off the heat and stir in most of the grated cheese (leaving a little to garnish with). Cover to keep warm.
- Fry your slices of pancetta in a small non-stick skillet until crunchy.
- Put risotto onto individual plates or a large serving platter (not a bowl!!!) and sprinkle with a bit of shredded cheese. Top with desired amount of gremolata, then crumble prosciutto on top. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
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| Delicious braising liquid and more mushrooms that we'll use for our Risotto... |
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| Beautiful, Simple, Fresh! |
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| Toasting the Arborio Rice after sauteeing fresh mushrooms... |
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| You can't forget the wine! |
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| Combine braising liquid and stock = 4 Cups |
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| Fried Pancetta seals the deal |
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| Gorgeous and delicious! |
So you've eaten your fabulous Italian meal and you have leftover Risotto...what to do?? Why, make Arancini of course! Arancini are rice balls coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Traditionally from Sicily, they were flavored with saffron (hence the name "little oranges" in Italian), but in your kitchen, anything goes. Arborio rice is best for arancini because it's already starchy and sticks well together.
Simply chop your leftover braised pork into fine pieces, and stir well into your leftover risotto. Add eggs (1 egg at a time) and breadcrumbs (1/3 Cup at a time) until your rice mixture sticks together well and can be formed into 1 1/2" balls. Coat rice balls with more breadcrumbs, then refrigerate for an hour. (You can refrigerate these for longer--up to overnight--but you'll need to roll them in more breadcrumbs before proceeding.)
Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the rice balls, turning, until golden brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; season with salt. Serve as an appetizer topped with some gremolata, or alongside a crispy salad as a meal.
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| Frying your Arancini |
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| Another delicious family meal, or something to impress your friends! |
