I
have given up on the salting eggplant thing. If there is a difference in
the taste, it is so minor that I don't think it's worth it. Also, after
we had this the other night, Oscar commented that he thought the
eggplant should be cut smaller "so that it melts into the risotto." I
had left the pieced big so that Chloe could pick them out more easily,
but I agree that the ideal size would have been a smaller dice for the
eggplant, about 1/2-inch pieces.
Serves 6-8 as a main course
15 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time
7 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 medium eggplants, peeled and diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 pound smoked mozzarella, diced
Heat the stock in a sauce pan over medium heat.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook it until it is a deep golden color. Remove it from the pan and discard (or if you love garlic like we do, spread it on a piece of bread for a little snack while you're cooking).
Turn the heat up to medium high and add the eggplant and a few shakes of salt. Cook for a few minutes until the eggplant begins to soften. Add the tomato and oregano and stir.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the rice and the white wine. Cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed into the rice. Add a couple of ladels of stock and stir a few times, until the rice is absorbed into the rice.
Each time the stock is absorbed into the rice add more, and stir periodically. You don't need to stir continuously, just enough to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When most of the stock is gone, taste the rice for doneness. Is should be tender without any crunch but not mushy.
When the rice is done, stir in the smoked mozzarella and stir to incorporate it fully. Serve immediately.