Saffron Purple Carrot Risotto

Up until a few months ago I didn't dare buy purple carrots because I didn't know what to do with them. Now that they come in the produce box, I have finally experienced a purple carrot. It's... a... carrot.

I modified two different risotto recipes to get this one. Because of the purple carrot, the color of this dish may appear 'dirty' (as you can see in the picture) but don't let that full you. The taste is awesome!

Saffron Purple Carrot Risotto

6 cups home-made chicken stock
4 tbs butter (half a stick)
3 oz diced pancetta
1 medium onion,diced
1 1/2 cup purple carrots, diced
1/2 cup regular carrots, diced
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Heat the chicken stop on the stove and leave at low heat.

In a heavy bottom pan, melt the butter and saute the pancetta, diced onion, and diced carrots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grain with butter, for about 1 minute. Add the wine, if you want, and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of heated chicken stock, the saffron, the salt, and the pepper - stir and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. (This is where I turn the heat up just a touch closer to medium, somewhere between medium and medium-low.) Keep adding 2 ladles of stock at time until absorbed, frequently stirring. Continue this process until the rice is cooked.

Note: I always thought that the risotto was this blob of rice until I realized that it's actually supposed to be runny. So, you may need a  bit more liquid than the 6 cups of stock. I usually end up adding a touch of water to the stock pan to warm up for my last addition. So... make sure your risotto is a bit runny, not a dry blob of rice before you add cheese.

Finally, when rice is cooked, take risotto of the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Then, enjoy!

Pasta Primavera

I modify the following recipe a lot when I do not have all of the green ingredients... sometimes I only use sugar snap peas and english peas, other times I only use asparagus. Most of the time I overload on the veggies. Primavera is traditionally made with spaghetti but I mostly make it with pasta of different shapes. I prefer twisty pasta the size of asparagus spears/snap peas.

Pasta Primavera

olive oil
1 pound pasta of your preference
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cup snap peas (cleaned, strings removed)
1.5 cup asparagus, cleaned and cut to match snap peas length
3/4 cup english peas
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup finally grated parmasan
Salt + pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. (Tip: Always add salt when your water starts boiling. Adding salt to cold water wears out the bottom of your pot faster. - This tip brought to you by Chemistry 101.)

In a large pan, sautee the onions in olive oil on medium heat until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add snap peas, asparagus, and peas. Saute for 3-4 minutes. In the last minute, add finally chopped garlic. Pour the cream over the veggies. When the cream starts simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the parmasan and stir until it melts. Add salt and pepper to taste. (remember to make the sauce a little on the salty side since pasta is not) Finally, add the pasta to the pen, mix it all up and serve with some extra grated parmasan on top.

Note: I once made it with fava beans and left-over soy beans in the mix and was super yummy.