Talking Risotto, Medical Stuff, More on Food.

 

Wednesday morning I came across a recipe, on the radio, CKWR, for a Deep Dish Risotto which had about as much relationship to risotto as I do to being Chinese. It did have arborio rice in it mind you. The recipe itself didn’t sound bad, I might even try it, but risotto it ain’t. Oh, by the way its risotto with the middle o sounding like the o in off not like the o in over. I love risotto as you may recall and I was a little teed off to hear this dish so named. Wikipedia describes it “Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency.” The person described it as gooey and sticky. In that case it was badly made.

Poor Matt had to go all the way to Cambridge (about a 3/4 hr drive) early yesterday morning to get a blood pressure monitor which he now has to wear until he went to the docs at 7 a.m. this morning. As the thing takes a reading every half hour, or every hour at night, he didn’t get too much sleep. Not only that, he had to pay $50 for the privilege which is not refunded by our insurance. Very annoying. Then this afternoon I have to go for my MRI. I am hoping that will go OK and that I don’t suffer from claustrophobia or anything. A friend of mine had to spend a while in there and absolutely freaked out apparently. I hope I won’t be in it very long as its only my shoulder they are looking at. You know, the shoulder which is so much better these days!!!!!!

Last night I made the Greek Pasta Casserole that I posted on Tuesday. It was a lot easier to make than it sounded. It was also very good, we both enjoyed it. I found the timings given weren’t enough, 25 mins at 375° wasn’t long enough we gave it another 10 minutes, then 5 minutes uncovered and although it was steaming, the pasta was a tad cooler than it should have been. We have lots left over for supper tonight, don’t know what time we’ll be back from the MRI which is at 5:30 p.m. at least its not in the middle of the night which happened to a friend of ours, she had to go at 3 a.m. for her MRI. I think this is definitely a recipe we will make again.

I thought these wraps looked, and sounded, delicious although it does seem like a lot of ingredients. However, I always like ‘lettuce bundles’ so these may well be on our table before I am much older.

Thai Chicken Wrap

ByThe Family Dinner
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

At the table, fill lettuce leaves with flavorful minced chicken, vegetables and pieces of torn herbs. Add a squeeze of lime or some peanut crunch, and roll it up.

Serve with some steamed brown rice on the side, and you have the perfect summer dinner.

Don’t forget to include the kids! Your kids can help tear the mint into little pieces, pinch the tips and tails off the green beans and wash the vegetables. And, of course, taste to make sure the chicken is just perfect!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or ½ tablespoon ground ginger
¼ cup water or stock
1 pound ground chicken
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce or to taste
1 sliced Thai chili pepper (very spicy, so optional)
¼ cup lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
18 whole large lettuce leaves (about 3 lettuce heads)
½ pound young raw green beans, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cucumber, cut into strips with your peeler or mandoline
1 large carrot, shredded
Fresh mint, cilantro and basil
Cut limes

Asian chili sauce:

½ cup chopped peanuts
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Asian fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced

Instructions

For the chicken filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger or ½ tablespoon ground ginger
¼ cup water or stock
1 pound ground chicken
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce or to taste
1 sliced Thai chili pepper (very spicy, so optional)
¼ cup lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

For the Wrappings and Toppings:
18 whole large lettuce leaves (about 3 lettuce heads)
½ pound young raw green beans, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cucumber, cut into strips with your peeler or mandoline
1 large carrot, shredded
Fresh mint, cilantro and basil
Cut limes
Asian chili sauce

For the Dipping Sauce:
½ cup chopped peanuts
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Asian fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced

Mix all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a little bowl. Set aside.

In a medium nonstick pan, heat the vegetable oil and sauté the garlic and ginger over medium heat until light brown. Add ¼ cup water or stock, then add the chicken and stir well, separating the chicken into small bits. This should take you about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain out the water.

Transfer the cooked chicken into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients for the filling and mix well. Taste the mixture and season until there is a good balance among the sweet, tart and savory flavors. You might need a bit more fish sauce, another squeeze of lemon, a little bit more hot sauce…

On a large platter, mound the vegetables, herbs, and chicken. Serve with little bowls of the dipping sauce, cut limes, fish sauce, chili sauce and chopped peanuts.

Total Servings: 6