Dinner Tonight: White Chili Risotto

I needed to use up some leftover roasted pork, and I was in the mood for risotto. I wanted to do something a little different, so I adapted a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for white chicken chili, turning it into a risotto instead of a soup. I think it turned out really well.

The chilis, once they are seeded and the ribs removed, are all quite mild. You can leave in a few seeds if you like some heat, but I didn’t. One of the weird things about California grocery stores is that poblano chilis are called pasilla chilis and the Anaheim is also known as the green chili. The combination of the three different kinds of chilis and two cheeses give a nice depth of flavor.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

For the Salsa:

• 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• squeeze of lime juice
• pinch salt

For the Risotto:

• 6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 jalapeno chilis, seeds and ribs removed, chopped fine
• 2 poblano chilis, seeds and ribs removed, chopped fine
• 2 anaheim chilis, seeds and ribs removed, chopped fine
• 1 ½ c. arborio rice
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp. ground coriander
• ½ c. white wine
• 16 oz. leftover roast pork
• 1 c. frozen corn
• 2 oz. monterey jack, shredded
• 2 oz. chevre
• ¼ c. cilantro, roughly chopped
• ¼ c. flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• lime juice, to taste

Procedure

1. Mix salsa ingredients together and set aside.
2. Pour chicken broth in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
3. Heat olive oil in large saute pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add all of the chopped chilis, and cook stirring occasionally for another 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
5. Add rice, and stir for 1-2 minutes until grains turn translucent.
6. Add cumin and coriander, and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant.
7. Add wine, and stir until almost all liquid is gone.
8. Add a couple ladles of chicken broth, and stir until most of the broth is absorbed. Repeat until all but 1 cup of the broth has been added and the rice is cooked.
9. Stir in pork, frozen corn, and 1/2 cup broth, and cook until heated through.
10. Add cheeses and the rest of the broth, and stir until incorporated.
11. Just before serving, stir in cilantro, parsley, a squeeze of lime juice, and salt to taste.

Serve topped with salsa.