Super easy recipe, and this was only my second time making risotto.
I ordered pork loin chops from FreshDirect (my new best friend), 1″ thick. I have so little experience cooking pork because 1- I don’t eat pork en generale (exceptions include bacon), and 2- I’m wary cooking something I have to be very sure is cooked to “done” but if I overcook it, it tastes like crap. (I like dark meat chicken for a variety of reasons, one being it’s nearly impossible to overcook…) Anyhow, I’ve gotten so bored of making chicken or beef, that I decided, what the heck, let’s make some pork chops.
After much agonizing, because I was positive I wanted to make risotto, I came up with… a non-recipe. I sprinkled each side with salt and pepper, threw it into a hot skillet with olive oil, and cooked it on each side for about 4-5 minutes. I got a nice crust on it, and let it sit for a few minutes while I finished up the risotto.
Risotto is deceptively easy. It looks and sounds hard to make, but it’s really easy once you’ve done it… once. It does take patience and a bit of time (20-30 minutes actual cooking time), but it is really easy and delicious! I used a simple, standard recipe, you can make changes to it as you like.
- 2 cups Arborio rice (for two people, you will have leftovers, but I used the leftovers for my next recipe- risotto cakes!)
- medium [yellow] onion, chopped
- butter
- chicken broth, heated through and kept at a low simmer
- grated Parmesan cheese
- salt
- pepper
Melt the butter over low heat; add onion. You want to cook the onion just until it’s soft, translucent, sweet- don’t brown them! After the onion is cooked, add the Arborio and stir constantly, it’ll be a little glutinous but keep stirring and make sure all the buttery onion goodness gets integrated. You’re ready for the next step when the grains basically look a little clear around the edges with a white dot in the center (about 3 minutes). Make sure you don’t brown the rice!!! It won’t taste good if it browns, so keep the heat low.
Now, scoop a ladle or two full of broth and add to the risotto, stirring the whole while. Make sure it’s evenly being absorbed into the rice (don’t just add the scoop, stir once and then stand back!). Once the broth has been absorbed, add another ladle or two, and stir some more. Continue doing this until the rice, when you taste it, has a slight bite (it shouldn’t be mushy, but it shouldn’t be hard, either). This should take about 20 minutes.
Add the grated Parmesan, then season the rice with salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Enjoy! (I cut a bit of scallion to scatter on top because I love the freshness, I just mixed it in right before plating.)
Serving suggestion: since I’d made the porkchops pretty plain, my boyfriend ate each bite with a bite of risotto, and loved it. I chose to add some cherry butter (from Harry & David’s), which went deliciously well with the tender pork. Yummy!
Anonymous says
wow your pork looks great! Is it ok to have it pink in the middle like that? I too am very hesitant about cooking pork bc of the fear of undercooking it thus they always come out overcooked.
– misslizz
six2six says
mm, that looks really good. i really should stop reading food blogs right before lunch time.
Anonymous says
i don’t usually comment because it is not my xanga. haha. it is a pain to comment on other blogs. i am just too lazy.
the pork chops look great!! they are generally easy for me to make. as for risotto i dont have the patience. hehe.
SkippyMom says
Ahhh, cruel Fiesty, cruel…that pic about did me in! We had “breakfast for dinner” not too shabby – Cheese/Asparagus Omeletes with smoke sausage and fried potatoes on the side (yes that is our Chlstrl going up)…but when I saw your blog and pics…I wept! heehee…WOW that looks good!
I don’t as a rule ever cook my pork less then well done…but I have found that 20 minutes/lb on 325 degrees in the oven is optimum and then let them set a few after taking them out….when you pan fry you have just about the right timing there that you noted (the pics looked a bit pink, but I think that was the photo, right?)
We went to a restaurant once (nice/not over the top) and we both ordered the pork chops….when the waiter brought our plates he asked “Who had the Med Rare?” and both me and SkippyHusband both replied (in unison) “Neither” We weren’t asked and neither of us were aware that you could order pork undercooked. And we had never been asked, b/c we both would have replied “Well Done”.
The Manager informed us that “Everyone is ordering it to their preference these days….we no longer cook it {well done) ONE WAY.”
They went out of business about 4 months later and me and SKH speculate that someone became sick and sued…since it wasn’t a chain…they lost everything! Sad, b/c it was our favorite restaurant/bar to hang out in during out Xmas shopping forays….lol
Okay…enough – I love the blog and pics, but promise the pork was well done, right?
SkippyMom says
Oh…and skip the salt and throw on pepper, paprika and garlic powder/salt/crushed…and then fry them…ooh lala vavoom! They are the bomb!
Just a hint 😉