Recipe: Sweet Vanilla Risotto with Poached Peaches and Chocolate

Over the years, I have come to realize my tendency to repeat the same old recipes, and have stopped trying out new recipes. As such, to challenge myself to try out new recipes in cookbooks, I have decided to join the Cookbook Challenge 2011. I chanced upon this group while reading my regular updates on my Google Reader. A theme is set every fortnight, and participants of this challenge are supposed to challenge themselves by preparing a dish based on a recipe found in their cookbook collection.

The theme for this fortnight: Stone fruits! I love peaches, and decided to use a recipe that requires peaches.

 Sweetness of Peaches + Aroma of Wine + Richness of Chocolate + Lovely Juices = Heavenly Pudding

Sweet Vanilla Risotto with Poached Peaches and Chocolate

Adapted from Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver

Serves 6 

Ingredients

• 6 ripe peaches, halved
• 6 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 85g/3oz butter
• 2 vanilla pods
• 325g / 11.5 oz risotto rice 
• 1 wineglass of white wine 
• 1 litre full fat milk
• 100 g best white chocolate, grated
• 100g best quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• a handful of fresh mint, leaves picked 

Directions

1. Halve the peaches; put them into a small pan with 4 tbsp of sugar, cinnamon stick, and the zest and juice of the orange. 
2. Put a lid on top and slowly simmer for about 10 to 15 mins, until the peach skin and stones can be easily removed; they should be soft, but still hold their shapes. Remove from heat and put to one side. 
3. In a thick bottomed pan with lid, slowly melt two-thirds of the butter. Score down the length of vanilla pods and remove seeds by scraping a knife down the inside of each half. Add the seeds to the butter and stir. Continue to cook for 1 minute before adding your rice with the remaining sugar. Turn the heat up to medium, stir the rice, and add the wine, continuing to stir until it has almost cooked away. Now add the milk little by little. 
4. Keep the rice on a slow but constant simmer for about 16 to 17 minutes and stir it as often as you can. When the rice has cooked through it should be soft yet still holding its shape. You may need to add a little more milk or water just to adjust its consistency. 
5. Remove from heat, add the grated white chocolate and the rest of the butter, then stir, place the lid on top and leave for a few minutes. 
6. Remove the skin from the peaches, discard them along with the cinnamon stick, and take the peaches to the table with your block of dark chocolate snapped into small pieces. Spoon the risotto on to plates, then push a couple of pieces of dark chocolate into the middle of each one. Just so you know, a perfect risotto should slowly creep and ooze to the side of your plate.Gently tear the peaches and place some on each plate, then drizzle over some of the lovely juice and sprinkle over a few mint leaves. By the time you go to eat it, the dark chocolate would have melted. 

Cook's Note:
Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Alternatives

As I have multiple food intolerance, I could only have a really tiny serve of the pudding, and watched James clean up his share. I felt a little indignant about it, and headed back to the kitchen to make a dairy-free variation. To make the above recipe dairy-free& gluten-free, simply substitute full milk with rice milk, butter with dairy-free spread and the milk and dark chocolate with dairy-free, gluten-free milk and dark chocolate. The end product was a lighter version of Jamie Oliver's recipe, but tasted just as good. The quality of chocolate and peaches used, certainly is the make or break factor in this recipe. 

The gluten-free, dairy-free variation!

Joy, joy, joy!