Barbie Pink Risotto, Because Somebody Had To Do It!
Seriously, Risotto With Red Chard, Pancetta Crumbs and a Balsamic Glaze is Oscar Worthy
So, Barbie, what can I say. I adored that movie along with a lot of other people. It took me back to the bad old days of playing Barbies with my sister. We didn’t have pony tail Barbie. We had the later 1960s Barbie, with the bouffant hair and the Big Dreams! Barbie was an astronaut, a pilot, a doctor, a nurse, a judge, a nightclub singer, all at the same time. We’d go from Barbie doing her judge thing in a courtroom, to her other gig as a nightclub singer, maybe she’d go into space the next morning, who knew. The sky was literally the limit.
I don’t usually get choked up at movies but Barbie really got to me, and I was the kid who took the rockers off of the dumb baby doll crib they got me and tried to make a bow and arrows out of it, so just saying. Anyway, pink is NOT my favorite color but when I learned that putting red chard into one’s risotto turns it pink…I was in! So last Sunday, before we sat down to watch the Oscars, I whipped up some Barbie Pink Risotto. Super simple, super fast and pink!
A note before starting. I make my risotto in a closed pot with no stirring, and it takes about 15/20 minutes. I learned this method from my friend Judy Witts Francini of @divinacucina . Judy is a former San Franciscan like myself, an amazing chef and cooking teacher who moved to Italy…and now she lives down the road from the Gori family there. You should visit her site!
Barbie Pink Risotto
Here’s What You Need:
1 cup of arborio rice
1 Tbs of freshly grated ginger
2 cups of water
1 shallot thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic minced
4 oz of chopped pancetta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 Tbs olive oil
1 bunch of red chard, stems, and leaves and all.
1 tsp grated lemon zest.
Here’s What To Do:
Take your chard and slice the stems thinly, chop the eaves coarsely. Set them aside.
In a large pot heat the olive oil and add the pancetta pieces. Let this sizzle until the pieces are crisp and the fat has rendered. This takes about 8 minutes or so. Take the pancetta pieces out with a slotted spoon, and set them on a paper towel covered plate to drain.
Add the butter to the skillet and stir in the sliced shallot, cook until it’s translucent about 5 minutes, then add in your thinly sliced chard stems, garlic, the grated ginger, and saute until they’re tender . This takes about 2 minutes.
Now add in your rice, stir it around until it turns opaque gets fragrant. That takes about 3 minutes.
Add in 1 tsp salt, stir in the 2 cups of water and bring everything to a boil. Once it’s boiling slap a lid on the pot and turn the heat all the way down. Let it cook for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, stir in the lemon zest and the chard leaves and cook until they’re softened. Stir them around, then stir in the Parmesan cheese. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Scoop it into bowls, sprinkle the top with pancetta crumbs, grate a little extra Parm on top, and drizzle some balsamic glaze over all. Bang, you’re done!
I loved this pink risotto, I loved everything about it and so did everyone else. It’s now rated a permanent spot on my food calendar!
Coming up next a Shelf Stable Genius, and Fun with Prunes!
Meanwhile, I’m always around for questions and comments and requests, just give me a shout out, and remember, over here it’s okay to play with your food!
The Colors of Indian Cooking has been around since 2009, and has always been a labor of love. My archive contains over 800 recipes and is constantly growing! We are a reader-supported publication. If you like what you see here, I hope you’ll consider supporting my work with a free or paid subscription.
The Colors of Indian Cooking is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Yummie 😋
it was!!!!!