Here is our recipe for our sunflower seed risotto. In this case, we prepare it with smoked trout, though really any kind of mix-in works great: from truffle, bacon, jalapeno to fresh crab meat to Japanese eel with some umeboshi and shiso.
**Smoked Trout and Sunflower Seed Risotto**
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tbsp butter
– One small white onion, diced
– 16 oz sunflower seed kernels
– 4 oz dry vermouth
– 32 oz roast chicken broth
– Pinch of salt
– One bunch sliced scallions
– Zest of one lemon
– One smoked trout, bones removed and flaked
– 3 tbsp crème fraîche
– 3 tbsp butter
– Fresh black pepper
– Salt to taste
– 2 oz grated Piave Vecchio cheese
1. Melt the butter and olive oil together in the bottom of a pressure cooker. Add the diced onion and sweat until tender. Season the onions with a pinch of salt.
2. Add the sunflower seeds and continue to cook until the seeds are lightly toasted. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth. Cook until the pan is near dry.
3. Add the chicken broth, another pinch of salt, and cover the pressure cooker. Cook under pressure for 40 minutes. When the time is up, release the pressure, strain the seeds, and reserve the liquid separately.
4. Puree one-third of the seeds with some of the cooking liquid until a smooth fluid puree is formed. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve and mix with the reserved sunflower seeds. This is the risotto base.
5. To serve, heat the base in a pot. Fold in the lemon zest, sliced scallions, crème fraîche, and flaked trout. When the mixture is hot, emulsify in the butter, grate in the cheese, and taste for seasoning. Reserve some grated cheese to top the risotto.
6. Spoon the risotto into bowls and top with the cheese and fresh ground black pepper.
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