Risotto with Fried Egg: Simple Indulgence from Tessa Kiros

There are runny yolk people and non runny yolk people. Me? I am firmly pro runny yolk (not loose, runny whites by the way--that's just wrong). Give me that silky golden yolky goodness especially when there is something good to dunk into it or soak it up. Something especially good like this Risotto with Fried Egg from Apples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook by Tessa Kiros.

Creamy, rich Parmesan-enhanced risotto, topped with a sunny yellow egg and crispy fried sage--it doesn't get more indulgent and more comforting than this. Especially when you break into that golden yolk and it oozes into the creamy rice.

Tessa says, "These are all the things my family loves--white risotto, egg, Parmesan--on one plate. The egg yolk must be soft when you serve it so that it can drip into the rice, and we like the white to be golden and frayed around the edge."


Risotto with Fried Egg
From "Apples for Jam" by Tessa Kiros
(Serves 4)

3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 2/3 cups risotto rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups hot vegetable stock (I used homemade organic chicken stock)
freshly grated nutmeg
salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or grana cheese
about 8 fresh sage leaves
4 eggs at room temperature
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Heat half of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan suitable for making risotto. Saute the shallots over low heat until light gold and then stir in the rice with a wooden spoon. Stir for a few minutes to completely coat the rice and let it cook a bit. Add the wine, and when that has evaporated, add all of the broth. Add a few grinds of nutmeg and taste for salt (your broth will probably be seasoned enough).

Simmer uncovered over high heat for about 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed much of the liquid. If it seems as if it needs a bit more liquid, add some hot water. (Note: I needed about 1/2 cup more stock and about 5 more minutes cooking time to make mine they way I like it.) Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan. Taste for salt, adjusting if necessary. Leave with the lid on so that the steam continues to cook the rice.

Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick frying pan and briefly fry the sage leaves until crisp. Remove with tongs. Gently break the eggs into the pan and sprinkle a little salt on the yolks. Cook until the edges of the white are a bit golden. Cover the pan with a lid and fry until the yolks are just slightly opaque on the surface but still soft inside (they are best when the undersides are golden and a bit crisp).

Scoop the rice onto serving plates and top each serving with an egg and a couple of sage leaves, being careful not to break the yolk just yet. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan and a few grinds of black pepper for those who want it.


Notes/Results: A little bit of heaven. ;-) The risotto is creamy and cheesy, the egg excellent with the crisp, slightly chewy edges and warm liquid yolk. The sage? Well, I can just eat fried sage leaves like chips anyway and here it adds a nice little herby crunch. Most of the risotto recipes I have tried involve adding the hot broth bit by bit, waiting for each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next and lots of stirring, so I was a little nervous about dumping the entire 4 cups of stock in and just letting it cook away. It worked liked a charm. I did need about 1/2 cup more of warm stock and another 4 to 5 minutes of cooking time to make it as creamy as I wanted it to be. Speaking of stock, I had some homemade organic chicken stock in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I used it instead of vegetable stock. The eggs and butter were both locally sourced, the nutmeg came from The Big Island, and the sage from my lanai herb garden. Since there are not a lot of ingredients in this, having good, ultra-fresh ones help make the dish even better.


I was so into eating my risotto with the runny yolk while it was still fresh and warm, as nature and Tessa Kiros intended, that I just snapped a few quick pictures, broke the egg and took a couple more shots and then got right to the happy task of eating it. I will definitely make this again and even if you are not a runny egg fan, this dish might convince you to become one! ;-)

You can check out what the other IHCCers made for their Potluck dishes by going to the post here and following the links.

So runny eggs... are you for them or against them?