Risotto with Parmesan

After a long busy day taking pictures I end up with only three, which you can call them semi-successful shots. I have taken more than 50 pictures for this recipe. Telling myself while shooting that, this post will be one of my best posts ever. I was excited, thrilled and I really spent a lot of time and effort trying to get good results. Well, the ruined results I got today weren’t that bad. At the end it helped me take a decision I couldn’t make since last November!

Four months ago, I heard about the PPSOP, perfect picture school of photography, it is an online photography school which offers a lot of specialized photography courses. The good news was that, I found food photography course listed as one of the many photography courses on that website. The bad news was that, I didn’t know if I really need a food photography course! I’m not saying that am an expert. I’m not even satisfied with the quality of my pictures yet. My idea was, I would consider taking a photography course when I find that my photography skills improvement stopped in one level and I couldn’t get over it, even when I try harder.

When I started this blog, I knew nothing about food photography. My camera at that time was Olympus Stylus 830, I love it, that’s why I’m keeping it till today. All what I knew was when I cook I feel happy and that’s it. Since then, I told myself and many people told me that, practice makes perfect. What happened in those few months was amazingly shocking. I found my pictures are getting better dramatically within a very short time.  I read a lot, searched a lot, asked a lot, and tried a lot. My goal is to get very delicious step by step pictures, so people can enjoy the taste of the recipe and the taste of my work as well.

But what happened with this recipe made me realize that there are some holes in the way I take pictures.  I don’t know about them but I need to fill them with a good knowledge. That’s why I took my decision and enrolled myself in this course.

Would I gain the knowledge I’m expecting from this course? would I notice a difference in the quality of my pictures within this month? many questions in my mind waiting for answers which I don’t have right now. Hopefully these questions will get answers soon enough.

I’m feeling optimistic, registering in something I like, especially when it not related to work, spending extra time and effort to learn more about what I feel passion about, all that give me a good reason to do my best.

Risotto with Parmesan

Adapted form 365 Main Courses.

Ingredients

4 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock

5 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups risotto rice

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to garnish

basil leaves to garnish

salt and ground black pepper

making the risotto

1. Heat the stock in a pan and leave to simmer until needed.

2. Melt two-thirds of the butter in a large, heavy pan or deep frying pan. Stir in the onion and cook gently until soft and golden.

3. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. After 1-2 minutes add one small ladleful of the hot stock. Cook untill the stock has been absorbed.

*4. Gradually add the remaining stock a little at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more, and stirring constantly. After about 20-30 minutes the rice should be creamy and al dente (underdone). Season to taste.

5. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan cheese. Taste again for seasoning. Leave the risotto to rest for 3-4 minutes before serving, garnished with basil leaves and shavings of Parmesan, if you like

Notes:

If you run out of stock when cooking the risotto, use hot water, but don’t worry if the rice is done before you have used up all  the stock.

* What I actually did was this : I used large pan, or flameproof casserole, and cook the rice with all the stock in one shot, over low heat till all the water was absorbed. This is good because it is easier, but if the stock is more than what you need then the rice would be very soft.

enjoy with love,

Maryam