St Valentine's Menu (1) / Plat: Arugula Risotto, perfumed with Truffles & Scallops

How about making together a complete St Valentine's Menu? A special occasion to share with our "Prince Charmant"? (or our Beautiful Cinderella) So, I will begin today with the Main Course !!!! I thought of something easy to make but a bit sophisticated....we are not going to spend one evening with candlelights eating a hamburger, are we? 



I learnt to make this recipe when I was working at O'Farrell's. It is not exactly their original recipe: they added a mashed potato, but for the sake of making it "light", I decided to leave it out....
For this Arugula Risotto, perfumed with Truffles, and Scallops (for 2), you will need


Carnaroli or Arborio rice, 280 gr.
Chicken Stock, 500 gr.
White wine, 1/2 cup.
Arugula, thoroughly cleaned and coarsely chopped, 40 gr.
Butter or Mascarpone, 1 big tablespoon.
Parmesan Cheese, grated, 2 tablespoons.
Black Truffles, 2.
Black Truffle oil, 2 tablespoons.
Olive oil, 2 tablesp.
Small onion, diced, 1.
Scallops, 6.
Marsala wine, 2 tablespoon.


Marinate the scallops in the marsala wine and black truffle oil. In a saucepan, warm the olive oil. Sauté the onion until traslucent. Add the rice, stir it over high heat until it gets a "pearl" colour. Add the white wine, cook until it evaporates. Start adding the hot stock, little by little, waiting till complete evaporation before adding more. This should take 15/20'. When the rice is "al dente", creamy and a bit moist, put it aside, let it set 2/3'. Then add the cold butter or the mascarpone (I prefer mascarpone because it is lighter). Last minute, add the arugula.
On a hot non-stick frying, put the scallops (remove the excess oil and marsala), cook them 1' each side. For the cheese "tuiles", on a silpat, make a "tuile" of cheese, bake 180°C until golden.
Put the rice on your dish, then the 3 scallops, slice the truffles for decoration. Add the cheese tuile !!!
Enjoy it !!!!



To get in the mood, anything better than a song in French? France First Lady, Carla Bruni, singing "L'amour"
.....and don't forget to tell your beloved one how much you love him/her...


PS: I know it's crisis time and the truffles and truffle oil might be a bit expensive...if you can, stick to the oil, because it adds a very special and unique flavour, and a touch of class! Leave out the truffles. Even if you use olive oil, instead of the black truffle one, the recipe will still be a success !!! 

Comments

Oh.....is the way to his heart thru his tumm/

i dont know but this great valentine love filled meal sure is to mine...

Lovely Cristina...cheers and loads of love.....
Muriel said…
J'adore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Silvana said…
Qué buena propuesta, pero le saco las trufas, por una cuestion de presupuesto...
Norman said…
Simply Stunning !!!!!!!!!!!!
Duchess of Tea said…
My darling I popped in to wish you a love filled February full of blessings. What a delicious post and so perfect for "Heart" day. I just adore your blog.

Love & Hugs
Duchess
Gourmantic said…
Very elegant course!

We call arugula rocket. It certainly adds another dimension to the dish.
fromBAtoParis said…
@ Muriel: Merci beaucoup!

@ Norman: Thanks a lot !!!!

@ Silvana: Si, sacale las trufas, pero el risotto està bueno...El aceite de trufas? en el barrio chico de Belgrano?
fromBAtoParis said…
@ Duchess of Tea, Thanks a lot, lovely duchess !
Beautiful Valentine to you too....
fromBAtoParis said…
@ Gourmantic: here in France, it is called "roquette". In Spanish, "rucula". I'm glad you loved it. Thanks !
Anonymous said…
How elegant daaaaaaaahling!
*kisses* HH
Meredith said…
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment! I did really enjoy putting together that entertaining plan. I must admit I haven't made much French food before, though, so I'm thrilled to be introduced to your blog. I can't wait to try out some of your recipes! Hope to keep seeing you on the blog.
Anonymous said…
I've been following you from the beginning. You've got the knack of making a simple dish a feast and a sophisticated oone sound simple. And always with this flair for elegance.
Bravo and looking forward to more !
fromBAtoParis said…
@ Anonymous: Thanks a lot for your words. Foodbloggers work in solitude, so comments like yours make us feel that somebody in this world appreciates what we do, the trouble, the care...thanks for the encouragement !!
Unknown said…
Dear Christina, your St.Valentines menu looks magnifique! I am thinking to myself how cool it is that you also recommended the Lamour song too. "Wild Thing", you make my heart sing! Loved and saved this recipe. I shall revisit you soon. Thank you for sharing.
Cheers, Gaby
You can always visit me at http://ptsaldari.posterous.com.
Sweet Freak said…
Omigoodness, how beautiful are your meals and photos?! I wish I could cook like you (and/or come over for dinner!) :)