How to Make Citrus Risotto from Zuni Cafe
This is a great cookbook if you don’t have it already. It feels old based on the type of paper, barely any fancy marketing photos, and fairly straight forward recipes for the masses to enjoy. The writer and Chef at Zuni, Judy Rodgers, even explains that the recipes are not overly complicated, and that arguably the most important quality in a chef is picking out fresh ingredients. This Citrus Risotto dish is definitely one that highlights some of the local produce from the SF Ferry Building famous farmers market (yes it is still open on Saturdays!).
Risotto actually sums up the blog pretty well. It tastes freaking amazing, but a lot of people stray away from making it because it is fairly labor intensive and can be daunting to some people. Yet every time I make it, I ask myself why I am not making this more at home?
When flipping through this book, I was extremely curious when I saw Citrus Risotto because I have never added much citrus to a risotto I have made, aside from some lemon maybe. But grapefruit and ripe limes (wtf is the difference? Oh they are yellow? Idk what is going on anymore.).
The Ferry Building Farmers Market is something most people should going to a regular basis if they are close by. Having access to the amount of quality ingredients they do is ridiculous. You get to talk with the actual farmers that work on the farms where you are buying what they just grew. It’s a weird ideal when have a Safeway 2 minutes away and don’t care where anything comes from. This will also open your eyes to what foods are in season, as they aren’t selling anything they aren’t growing. Just go check it out and buy some stuff.
Judy expliains in the beginning of this recipe that the cooks always look at her weird when she puts this on the menu. I mean it does sound weird like it would be out of balance, but it just works. The key really is using fresh ingredients. Fresh ripe sweet pink or red grapefruits, and ripe limes (which have yellow rinds, and are sweeter than supermarket limes).
Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients –
- Medium grapefruits – 1 to 2
- Ripe lime – 1
- Unsalted butter – 2tbsp
- Yellow onion – 1/2 finely diced
- Arborio or Carnaroli rice – 2 cups
- Chicken Stock – 3.5-5 cups, I think I used more honestly. I also used stock bought, don’t tell Judy, this can be our little secret
- Mascarpone – 1/4 cup
Step 1 – Prep the fruit
Slice off both ends of the grapefruit and lime, cut deep enough to expose the juicy flesh. Use a pairing knife to carve the skin from the top down.
Once all exposed, cut half of the sections of membrane from inside of the fruit. Work over a bowl to gather all juices, take out any seeds that fall in. Crush the remaining juice from the carcasses into the bowl, set aside.
Step 2 – Risotto time
Warm the butter in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat. I have a mondo 6 qt all clad that is a beast, but not necessary. add the onions, and a few pinches of salt. Cook onions until translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add the rice, stir until the grains are warm and coated with fat.
Add two cups of stock. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, usually slightly below medium heat for me. Once the liquid has been absorbed, add more stock.
Continue this until the risotto looks like a shiny porridge, this takes longer than you think, at least 30 minutes. Start trying to rice to see if it is close to being done, if it’s still hard, you have some time still.
Step 3 – Add the citrus and finishing touch
Once the risotto is nearly done, start adding the citrus, breaking the chunks into irregular pieces, add the rest of the juice as well.
Stir together until the risotto is cooked. Once done, turn off the heat, and add in the mascarpone, thoroughly mix together. The citrus will reduce to pretty flecks in the creamy rice. Serve immediately.
And for the ratings –
- Difficulty of ingredients to find – 4/5 stars – if you are actually the right ingredients, you will need to go to a farmers market
- Perceived difficulty going into recipe – 3/5 stars – I have made risotto a few times, curious how this one turns out
- Difficulty after recipe – 3/5 stars – Made in a similar fashion, with a few twists
- Time Taken – 3/5 stars – less than 2 hours
- Taste – 4.5/5 stars – yeah pretty outstanding
- Make again – 3/5 stars – for a special occasion, definitely
