Sunday, June 29, 2008

Mexican Risotto with Marinated Beef Kabobs


I think the flavors of Mexican food are on the top of my list of favorites, and I think Jon would agree. Sometimes, when friends are asking for meal suggestions, I scroll through my blog and notice that the majority of my meals use ingredients such as tomatillos, poblanos, jalapenos, Mexican spices, or cilantro.


I buy jalapenos at the produce store and you must get 25 jalapenos in a bag for $2! Pretty soon I should have that many in my garden - I'm growing them and my plants have several peppers each. Yesterday I wanted to use up a bunch of the jalapenos I had, and Jon felt like grilling, so I came up with a menu that would satisfy both of us.

Marinated Beef Kabobs with Mexican Risotto


The Marinade
Jon was busy outside so I tried my hand at making up a marinade. I did run outside to run it by him before I actually did it... I let the beef marinate for about 5 hours

  • 3/4 c olive oil
  • 1/4 c tequila
  • 2 jalapenos, sliced
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 hour before cooking add 2 tbsp lime juice

The Kabobs

I love lots of color on my kabobs. I used red pepper, green pepper, orange pepper, red onion, zucchini, and jalapenos. BE careful, the jalapenos seem to get even hotter after grilling!

I put them together and Jon grilled them up. Look at this shot of them on the grill -

And then the finished product -

Mexican Risotto

I'm not really sure if there is a risotto dish in Mexican cooking, but I'm calling this Mexican risotto because of the flavors. I have several recipes for risotto in this blog and this one will definitely remain on the top of the list of my favorites.

Ingredients

  • 1 c arborio rice
  • 5 c low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 c dry white wine
  • 1/2 each red and green pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
  • Optional: corn, finely chopped zucchini, different peppers
  • 1/2 c shredded cheese; I used a Mexican blend
  • Spices - about 1/2 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp cumin
  • A few shakes of red pepper flakes
  • Sour cream for serving

Directions

  • Pour chicken stock into a pot and add spices; heat gently
  • Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat
  • Add onions and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes
  • Add arborio rice and stir until coated, about 1 minute
  • Add white wine and stir until absorbed
  • Add broth, 1 ladle at a time, letting it absorb while stirring constantly.
  • Add peppers after the first ladle.
  • After about 17-25 minutes all of the broth should have been used and the rice should be cooked through. Taste it to make sure it isn't crunchy - my risotto takes 17 minutes sometimes, but 25 minutes on other days.
  • Stir in cheese and serve. I topped mine with some sour cream.

This was so creamy, flavorful, and delicious. I think adding the spices to the broth instead of directly to the rice really helped to infuse the flavors into every bite.

During the day I made a pot of Mexican Corn and Potato Soup. Here is the link for the first time I made it; this time I added about 6 oz of diced, canned tomatoes and just a bit of the juice and was happy with the addition.


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4 comments:

  1. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this recipe!! Looks great!

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  2. How creative to use mexican flavors in risotto! Your kabobs look wonderful and so colorful. Great job!

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  3. WOW!! That meal looks fabulous. The kabobs made my mouth water!

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  4. This risotto was AMAZING!!! I used 1 red pepper, 1 small can of corn, and a jalapeno. I actually left out the cheese and sour cream though, bc I felt it was flavorful enough. Had red snapper Veracruz style as a main dish and they went SO well together - http://recipe.aol.com/recipe/red-snapper-veracruz-style/81294. Thanks for the great recipe!!!

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