Risotto is one of those dishes that takes me back to my sister and I learning how to cook when we were really young. We grew up eating a lot of Taiwanese and Chinese food, as well as overtly healthy dishes(boiled romaine lettuce seasoned with olive oil and nothing else, anyone?), but the one constant with all of our meals was rice. There was always rice in our kitchen. So when my sister wanted to try cooking European food, one of those dishes she learned how to make was risotto. Now, if you have never heard of risotto, it is an Italian rice porridge, made by toasting the grains of rice with shallots, hitting that with white wine, and slowly cooking it with stock. The rice absorbs the stock, and you end up with this creamy, flavorful rice. Compared to the fluffy steamed white rice, which was meant to be this blank canvas to absorb other flavors, risotto was such a unique and different thing for my family. I honestly am not 100% sure how my sister even came across risotto, since we lived in the suburbs and there were not too many authentic or upscale Italian restaurants that we went to. But that being said, it has since become a dish that I like to make from time to time. One thing about me is that I don’t like to waste ingredients. However, when I am prepping artichokes, an ingredient I would cook all the time back when I lived in Boston, I would find myself trimming off about 30 to 40% of the product that I bought, just to be left with the artichoke heart, and a lot of scraps. With the artichoke, you have to peel off the bigger, thicker leaves on the outside, then peel the area around the stem to leave just the tender parts, and then you have to remove the fuzzy choke inside, because that is 100% inedible. One thing about the peels and outer artichoke leaves is that they do contain a lot of that artichoke flavor. So I figured a nice way to still utilize the artichoke is to take those leaves, and steep them into a stock or a broth. And with that broth, I like to make artichoke risotto. The choke, just throw that away, there is no use for that at all. This risotto takes me back to my childhood with my sister, but also combines it with more recent memories of living alone in Boston and learning how to cook for myself.

With this recipe, you have essentially three things you will need to prep. The artichoke hearts, some of which will be diced, sauteed, and folded into the risotto, the rest being roasted to garnish the top of the risotto with, the artichoke stock, which will be where all of your artichoke scraps will go, and the risotto itself, which will be flavored with the artichoke stock. While you are storing the artichokes after peeling them, I recommend rubbing lemon juice all over them, as it keeps the chokes from oxidizing and turning an unpleasant brown-grey color. The artichoke stock will be made first by sweating out those outer leaves and the stem peels, then deglazed with vegetable stock. The liquid will simmer, covered, then allowed to steep to impart the most artichoke flavor before all of the solids are strained out. With the risotto itself, I used cooking sake instead of white wine, because that was what I had on-hand, and pecorino romano, a saltier cheese, to finish the risotto itself with, for a creamier texture. I prefer pecorino to parmesan when it comes to this dish, since artichokes tend to finish sweet, so having a saltier cheese adds a more savory note to the whole dish. Like I mentioned before, the artichoke hearts will be used inside of the risotto, and some will be crisped and used as a garnish on top. I used an air fryer for the artichoke heart garnish, just. because it crisps them up nicely, and I don’t have to set up an actual oil fryer this way. What I love about this dish is that it really does embrace the artichoke as a vegetable and ingredient, and making a stock-turned-risotto out of it is a technique that can be done with so many different kinds of vegetables, ranging from carrots to celeriac to asparagus!

Makes 3-4 servings:
For the artichoke hearts:
3 artichoke hearts
1 lemon, halved
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Peel the outer leaves of the artichoke until you are left with bright yellow colored leaves. Trip the pointy ends of the artichokes, taking off roughly the top half of the tear drop shaped bulb. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the woodier exterior of the stem until you are left with bright yellow colored flesh as well. Reserve all of those scraps for the stock. Rub the artichokes with the lemon halves, cut/exposed sides of the lemon against the bright yellow flesh of the artichokes. Cut the artichokes in half, lengthwise, and then brush with more lemon juice. Using a spoon, scoop out any fuzzy bits from the center of the artichoke bulbs. Cut the artichoke hearts in half lengthwise again, and then again, applying more lemon juice on them between each cut. Squeeze the juice out of the lemons into a pot, and fill the pot about halfway with water. Bring that liquid to a boil, and then place the artichokes in the boiling hot water for 2 minutes. With half of the hearts, dice them further, while with the remaining, transfer them to an air fryer, roasting them at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. While still warm, toss the hearts in the herbs, seasonings, and olive oil to finish.

For the artichoke stock:
Reserved artichoke scraps
2 tbsp olive oil
32oz vegetable stock
a pinch of salt

In a large pot, sweat out the artichoke scraps with olive oil on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes. Then add in the other ingredients and cover the pot, allowing everything to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Allow the liquid to completely cool before passing through a sieve, pressing out any liquid from the solids. When ready to make the risotto, reheat the stock, while covered, on medium-low heat.

For the risotto:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
a pinch of salt
reserved diced artichoke hearts
1 cup white rice
1oz cooking sake
Artichoke stock
1oz grated pecorino cheese

In a large and deep pan, heat up the olive oil with shallot, garlic, and salt. Sweat out the shallots, and once translucent, remove them and the garlic from the pan. Repeat this step, but with the artichoke hearts, cooking them until they begin to brown. Remove the hearts and add in your rice. Stir the rice in the pan on medium heat until it begins to turn translucent as well, then add in the shallots, garlic, and artichokes. Stir those through and first add in the cooking sake, stirring that all together for 1-2 minutes on medium heat first. Then add to that 4oz of the artichoke stock, stirring the rice frequently again. Stir the rice on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, allowing the liquid to almost fully cook down before adding in another 4oz of the stock. Repeat the steps of stirring, reducing, and adding more stock into the rice on medium heat until the rice is fully cooked – the grains should not be white in the middle. At this point, add in the pecorino and stir until the cheese is fully melted into the rice.