Pear Risotto with Prosciutto & Fried Sage Leaves

Sunday July 1, 2012
Well, it's Monday July 16 and I'm just getting to this.  We went on a fantastic vacation to San Diego where I ate as much local fresh fish as I could, but we went camping so there were lots of burgers and brats too :)

Pear Risotto with Prosciutto and Fried Sage Leaves.  From Eating Well Magazine.

Directions:
1.  Put about an inch of vegetable oil in a small sauce pan.  Heat it and drop in four largish fresh sage leaves & 1 slice of prosciutto (cut into strips).  Cook until crispy.  Place in a strainer over heat proof bowl to drain (I used a porcelain cereal bowl).
2.  (My directions here based on there being too much salt in the initial recipe.  If you want the original directions go to the link above).  Heat three cups of broth and three cups of water together in a sauce pan until simmering.  Keep it simmering.
3.  In a large pot or dutch oven heat 1 Tbs of olive oil.  Add 2 tablespoons of shallots or garlic (I used garlic because my husband won't eat shallots).  Stir for 1-2 minutes.  Add 1-2 tsp of minced fresh sage leaves.  Add 1 cup of chopped peeled Bosc pears.  Add 1 cup of Arborio Rice (risotto).  Stir to coat the rice with oil.  Add 1/3 cup dry white wine.  Turn up the heat and stir for 1-3 minutes until the wine is absorbed.
4.  Start adding the hot broth/water mixture 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time to the rice.  Keep a simmer going.  The Arborio rice will absorb a lot of water and become creamier.  After about 10-15 minutes if you want softer pears, add 1 more cup of peeled chopped Bosc pears.  If you want your pears to have a bit more tooth feel - wait another 5-10 minutes.  This is the annoying part of making risotto.  You need to baby sit it, stir it, watch the water absorb and when the mixture feels more creamy than liquid - add more.  You'll be doing this for 20-30 minutes total.
5.  When all broth has been absorbed, turn off the heat.  Add 2 Tbs parmesan & 1 Tbs butter (I used brummel and brown because it's what I had in the house.  Honestly, I don't think this needs any additional butter.  It's creamy enough.
6.  Serve with fried prosciutto and fried sage leaves on top.  Should make four 1 cup servings.  1 cup was pretty filling.

From eatingwell.com:

NUTRITION

Per serving: 267 calories; 10 g fat ( 4 g sat , 4 g mono ); 22 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrates; 10 gprotein; 2 g fiber; 405 mg sodium; 122 mg potassium.

Pictures as I go!

Fried Sage Leaves and Prosciutto 

Cooking!

My husband's dinner.

The Verdict:  This was too salty and the pears didn't hold up after being cooked for so long, but I used Anjou instead of Bosc (which are a bit harder), so that may have been the problem.

Here's what I would change if making this again:  I would use HALF broth and HALF water.  I think the intense saltiness was caused by too much broth being cooked down.  I would also cut it down to 6 cups total liquid instead of 8 (the original recipe called for 8 cups of broth).  I would definitely use Bosc pears and I would use more fresh sage in the cooking.  I also might not add the pears until the end so they weren't mushy like the risotto.