White Bean Risotto with Chard and Fried Okra

I said that I like it when people send me recipes and I meant it! My best friend's mother, ridiculously skilled in the kitchen herself, sent a link my way, so naturally I had to try my hand at it. I then proceeded to change it. Why? Because I just can't help myself. I thought that it might be a wee bit bland prepared exactly as it was (some of the reviews back me up on this), and I am too lazy to measure so anything I do is a bit of a hack job anyway. Oh, and the store was out of butter beans.

So, what did I do to it? I replaced butter beans with northern white beans, a less flavorful bean, but I knew that it would work just fine. Then I added prosciutto to the mix, used a bit more onion and probably some extra wine, and likely a bit more parm than the recipe called for. What didn't I change? I prepared the okra exactly as directed (except a lot more of it), and it turned out marvelously. I also handled the chard as recommended.

This means I now know an easy and delicious way to fry okra. Such things cannot end well.

Risotto for Dessert

Sometimes, against your better judgment and respect for your waistline, you have to do something obscenely indulgent. Well, next time you get that urge... might I make a suggestion? Perhaps you should consider a white chocolate risotto. Yes. You should. And, no, I don't even really love white chocolate, I'm an all dark kind of a chocolate girl. It does not matter. I mean, just look at this:



Those are dark chocolate shavings on top, just in case it wasn't decadent enough before. It takes a little bit of time, but a lot less than I expected from a risotto. The real key is that you have to serve it immediately. If you wait it gets a little hardened again and far less magically delicious.

Trust me, it's worth a look.