Best Cranberry Risotto Recipes

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SWEET-POTATO RISOTTO AND CRANBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring first 4 ingredients to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Puree sauce in processor. Strain into small bowl. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover and chill.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Place game hens, cut side down, on small baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Continue baking until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced, about 20 minutes longer.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add yams, onion and ginger; sauté until yams are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Cook rice in small saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Drain rice. Add rice to yam mixture in skillet. Add Riesling and stir over low heat to blend. Add mascarpone and stir to melt. Season with salt and pepper.
• Rewarm sauce. Spoon risotto onto plates. Top with hen. Sprinkle with nuts, parsley and orange peel. Drizzle sauce around risotto.
• *Italian cream cheese, available at Italian markets and many supermarkets. If unavailable, blend 8 ounces cream cheese with 1/4 cup whipping cream and 2 1/2 tablespoons sour cream. Use 2/3 cup mixture for the recipe.

COMFORTING CHICKEN, CRANBERRY, AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• Melt half the butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat; add mushrooms and season with salt. Cook and stir mushrooms until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour 2 tablespoons white wine over the mushrooms; cook and stir until the wine reduces in volume, about 2 minutes more.
• Stir kale with the mushrooms, season with salt, and place a lid on the pot; cook until the kale has wilted, about 5 minutes.
• Stir chicken and cranberries with the kale mixture; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and return the pot to medium-high heat.
• Melt remaining butter in the pot; add leeks and season with salt. Saute leeks until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir rice and thyme with the leeks to coat the rice in butter; cook and stir until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour 2 cups chicken broth into the pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth has mostly absorbed into the rice and a spoon dragged through the rice leaves a trail, about 8 minutes; repeat process twice more with remaining broth.
• Stir water and chicken drippings together in a bowl. Stir 2 cups of the mixture into the pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth has mostly absorbed into the rice and a spoon dragged through the rice leaves a trail, about 8 minutes; repeat process twice more with remaining mixture, cooking until the mixture is creamy and the rice is plump and remains firm to the bite. Remove and discard thyme sprig. Season rice mixture with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Stir about 2/3 of the kale mixture into the rice mixture; spread into a large baking dish and top with remaining kale mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven until heated through, about 15 minutes.

APPLE-CRANBERRY BREAKFAST RISOTTO

Steps:

• Heat butter in a 4-quart slow cooker on high heat until melted. Add rice; stir to coat. Add apples, brown sugar, salt and spices. Stir in milk and apple juice., Cook, covered, on low until rice is tender, 3-4 hours, stirring halfway. Stir in cranberries during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

CRANBERRY ROASTED GARLIC RISOTTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF.
• Grease a covered casserole dish.
• Melt butter or margarine in a large saucepan.
• Add roasted garlic and onion; cook over medium heat until soft.
• Add rice; cook for 2 minutes.
• Add broth and sweetened dried cranberries; bring to a boil for 2 minutes.
• Pour mixture into casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes.
• Stir in cheese and serve immediately.

RISOTTO WITH SAUSAGE AND CRANBERRY (BORLOTTI) BEANS

Steps:

• If using fresh beans, shell them, put them in a pot with enough cold, unsalted water to cover by about two inches, bring the water to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook at a slow, steady pace until tender, about 45 minutes to one hour. Let them steep in their liquid until ready to use. If using dried beans, soak them overnight or for at least six hours, drain, then boil them in a fresh change of water untl tender. Let them steep in their liquid until ready to use.
• Put the oil and chopped onion in a medium skillet, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the onions, stirring frequently until translucent but not coloured. Add the crumbled sausage and cook it, turning it over with a wooden spoon, until it becomes coloured a rich brown all over.
• Retrieve the cooked beans from their pot, using a colander spoon or another slotted spoon, and put them in the skillet. Add one or two tablespoons of water from the bean pot, and mash about half the beans, pressing them against the bottom of the skillet with the wooden spoon.
• Cook for about a minute, turning the contents of the pot over with the spoon from time to time. Pour the broth into a saucepan, bringing it to the boil and keeping it at a slow, sputtering simmer.
• Place the heavy-bottomed saucepan where you'll be making the risotto on the burner nearest to the broth, empty the contents of the skillet into it, and turn the heat under the risotto pot to medium high. Stir, and when the beans and sausages are sizzling hot, add the rice. Stir quickly and thoroughly to coat the rice well.
• Add one cup of simmering broth, and cook the rice, stirring it and periodically adding liquid. Finish cooking the rice, stirring always and adding broth when needed, until tender but firm to the bite, about 25 minutes.
• Take the pot off the heat and do the mantecare step, swirling in the butter and Parmesan, turning the risotto over four or five times. Add the chopped parsley, salt and ground pepper to taste, stir once or twice more; transfer to a warm platter and serve at once.
• What is mantecare? Mantecare is the final step of making risotto. The word is borrowed from the Spanish for butter, mantequilla. In Italian it means to work butter or cream into what you are cooking to give it a soft consistency. In making risotto you do this when the risotto is cooked but is still steaming in the pot. Add a tablespoon or so of butter and some freshly grated cheese, and swirl them in to combine. It is the final and best touch, giving the risotto its great consistency.

ROAST CHESTNUT AND CRANBERRY RISOTTO

Steps:

• Roast the chestnuts (200C on a metal tray for about 20 mins should work, the shells will start to split when they're done. Be careful, one or two will pretend to be giant bits of popcorn and just explode) Shell and chop the nuts (I found chopping the nut in two with a sharp knife and scooping the flesh out with the handle of a teaspoon was faster than trying to peel them) Fine chop the onion and fry in butter until translucent, add some garlic if you like. Throw in the risotto rice and stir for about 2-3mins. Add the chopped nuts, and cranberries, then add half a pint of stock. Simmer. Stir continuously until its nearly absorbed and then add some more. Add the nutmeg. Keep adding a bit of stock and letting it absorb until you have about half a pint left. Stir regularly so that no rice sticks. Throw in your grated cheese and let it melt through the yum. Add the thyme and the rest of the stock, stir it some more until its all nice and gloopy. Serve alone, or with a baby leaf salad. Enjoy!

CRANBERRY RISOTTO

Steps:

• Pour Cranberry Juice Cocktail into small sauce pan and place on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
• Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to 1 quart sauce pan and place over high heat.
• Add leeks and salt and pepper.
• Sauté until leeks are translucent and then add the rice.
• Stir until the rice is coated with oil.
• Add the boiling cranberry juice cocktail. Stir. Cover. Turn heat down to a simmer.
• Let simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add feta cheese and sweetened dried cranberries, stir well.
• Turn into serving dish.
• Serve hot.