Author Notes
I was making a chile paste and soaking Guajillo chiles in hot water to soften them. I didn't want to throw out the soaking water that was left, now a rich brown color and full of smoky chilie flavors, so I saved it. A few days later I was thinking about making risotto and thought, hey, instead of stock, I'll use the chile "tea". A quickly made up another batch to bring the total amount to 5 cups and proceeded to make risotto. —Jay
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Ingredients
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3-4
Guajillo chiles, or other type of large dried chile.
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2
shallots, minced
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1
Large rutabaga, or several smaller ones, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes
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3
Cloves of garlic, minced
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1/4 cup
olive oil
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1 1/2 cups
arborio rice
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1/2 cup
dry white wine
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4 tablespoons
butter
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1/2 cup
grated romano or parmesan cheese
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1/2 cup
chopped cilantro
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Salt and pepper
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1/2 teaspoon
ground cumin
Directions
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Preheat oven to 450°
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In a kettle, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil, pour over chiles in bowl and let steep for 30 minutes.
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Toss rutabaga with garlic and olive oil, place a cookie sheet and roast about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to so all sides get browned
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Remove chiles from water, save for another use, and heat soaking water to a simmer and keep it there
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melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add shallots. Stir occasionally until shallots are softened, about 6 minutes. Do not brown.
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Add rice and cumin and stir until rice is coated, about 3-4 minutes.
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Add wine and stir until wine is absorbed.
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Stir in a 1/2 cup or soof simmering chile broth, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. Continue until rice is creamy and the texture al dente. About 20 minutes
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Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, cheese, roasted rutabaga and cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. If risotto is too thick, thin with a little more chile broth.
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Enjoy immediately.
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