Summer Corn Risotto

With four fresh-from-the-farm ears of corn in my fridge, I took the liberty of adapting Emily Weinstein’s adaptation of Corn Risotto. If you can carve out 90 minutes of cooking time this risotto is worth every bit of effort. Emily suggests preparing a corn stock and I wouldn’t pass that up. It was simple hands-off work and give this classic Italian dish a different spin.    

Ingredients

Corn Stock

• 2 corn cobs (kernels removed and set aside for risotto)
• 1 onion, unpeeled, cut into quarters
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
•  Dark green leaves from 1 leek ( white and light green parts set aside for risotto)
• 1 veggie bouillon cube
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns or several turns of fresh ground pepper

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cover completely with water. Cover pan, bring to a boil, and reduce to just a simmer for a minimum of 30 mins. The stock could be prepared in advance and reheated. 

Risotto

• A minimum of 8 cups corn stock or prepared vegetable stock
• A pinch of saffron threads, covered with ¼ cup of boiling water to bloom 
• 1 T of olive oil
• 2 T of unsalted vegan butter
• white and light green parts of leek finely chopped
• 1 cup arborio rice, the better the quality the better the finished dish
• raw corn kernels from the two ears of corn
• ½  cup of the thick cream from a can of coconut milk (optional)
• Salt & black pepper to taste
• 1 cup grated vegan parmesan cheese or  2-3 T of nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy dutch oven or lidded saucepan and add diced leek.  Keep heat low so as not to burn the leeks.  Once they are softened add vegan butter and rice. Stir well until rice is coated and glistening.  
2. Bring stock in its own saucepan to a low simmer and ladle into rice, stirring constantly, over low to medium heat until absorbed.    This is a process you will continue until rice is al dente, there is still a bite to the center, and will take about 20 minutes.   
   
3. Add saffron water and corn kernels, stirring well. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for 10 mins.  Check the rice to see if it is now cooked through, add coconut cream if desired, and adjust the seasoning. 
   
4. Mix in or top each serving with the grated cheese and parsley.

Enjoy!