Zucchini and Pea Risotto

One thing I miss the most about my Dad is his cooking. He always had a knack for making the most amazing Italian dishes. Some of my most favorite memories were sitting in the kitchen with him watching him cook. One of my Dad's favorite dishes to make was risotto. Without fail, he would always make it with pancetta and peas. He knew I hated peas so he'd always serve me mine before he added the peas.
Risotto itself isn't a very healthy dish, especially with pancetta in it so I was excited to find a delicious healthier alternative. Zucchini has just the right texture to pair with the soft arborio rice. I found that this dish went well with a fresh salad and a nice glass of Chardonnay.

Zucchini and Pea Risotto
Adapted from Everyday Food and my Dad's recipe
1 can of low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp butter
1 Zucchini
1/2 white onion chopped finely
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup of peas
1/4 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano

Peal and chop the zucchini into small cubes.
Heat up broth with 1 cup of water in a saucepan on low heat.
Heat up a medium size saucepan on medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Stir the zucchini until it is golden brown. After the zucchini is cooked, transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion. Cook until translucent and soft. Raise the heat back to medium. Add rice. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the rice is translucent around the edges. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.
Add a ladle of broth to the rice and stir until it is absorbed. Repeat this step until the rice is soft and tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Add the zucchini. Turn off heat. Stir in parmesan. Then mix in some of the remaining broth to help thicken the rice. Serve up the risotto to anyone who doesn't like peas. Add the peas and cook for about 2 minutes. Serve hot with a bit of parmesan on top.

Step 2 and lemon cookies

Sorry for not updating this past week! I was studying for my medical boards all last week (Step 2 CK to be exact). I finally took it on Thursday and I'm so thrilled to be done. That means I can focus on more important things like baking.
Over the past week I've become obsessed with summer flavors. Lemon is one of my favorite ingredients to work with and I feel like it is the quintessential summer flavor. That's why I was so excited when I saw a recipe for toasted almond lemon meringue cookies! I decided that I had to make it when my friends were coming over last night to watch Mad Men. All in all it ended up tasting amazing. I had a few hiccups along the way, such as mistakengly using a super old pastry bag, from the 1970s, and having it explode all over myself and the kitchen. They might not have looked as pretty as I was going for, but they definitely tasted amazing. I loved the rich flavors of the toasted almonds paired with the zesty tang of the lemon.



Toasted Almond Lemon Meringue Cookies
Adapted from Joy the Baker

1/4 cup finely ground almonds
1 Tbsp cornstartch
2 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of lemon zest
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 F˚. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Grind 1/2 cup of almonds in a food processor. Measure out 1/4 cup and spread them out on a baking sheet. Put them in the oven for about 10 minutes. After you remove them from the oven put them in a small bowl and mix with the cornstarch. Set the mixture aside.
In an electric stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites on medium with the salt until they are frothy and peaks form.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually mix in the sugar. Add in the lemon juice. Continue to beat the mixture until it is glossy and can form stiff peaks.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and mix in the lemon zest and toasted almonds. Carefully fold them into the egg mixture.
Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag with a large tip and begin to make small circles on the baking sheet. You can also use a spoon if you don't have a pastry bag.
Sift the powdered sugar over the meringues and top with almonds.
Bake them in the oven for 50 minutes. After they are done baking, turn off the oven and leave the door cracked until they cool/are dry.

Drum!

When we went to the farmer's market this weekend I also picked up some fresh drum. It is quite common in Louisiana, but it isn't used in any recipes that I could find (that were healthy). So I decided to improvise and I used a recipe that was meant for snapper. They are both salt-water fish so I figured it might work. It turned out to be really delicious and I look forward to getting more drum before the summer is up.

Oven-roasted Drum Fillet adapted from Skinny Taste



2 Drum fillets
2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic cut cross-sectionally
1 tbsp fresh oregano and 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumps
Lemon to serve with the fish

Preheat oven to 450˚F.
Clean and rinse the fish off. Dry the fish off.
Line a broiler rack or pan with aluminum foil and drizzle olive oil on it.
Rub the dry fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Rub the oregano and Italian seasoning on. Place some of the garlic on one side of the fish before transferring and putting it in the pan. Place garlic on the other side of the fish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the fish.

I know the original recipe doesn't involve baking it with the garlic, but I found that it really adds to the flavor. Justin, also, really loves garlic so that was definitely a motivation to incorporate more garlic into the recipe. For side-dishes, I served it with wild-rice and broccoli.  I'm sure that it would have tasted amazing with snapper. But if you have a drum lying around I recommend using this recipe as opposed to deep-frying it.