Darjeeling Risotto with Raw Honey & Hatch Green Chile Flake

It's not called gastronomic guesswork for nothing; on the continuum of experimental uncertainty, this would be verging on true discovery, not quite in the realm of folly. The concept was to take an outside the box broth if you will, ignore traditional seasoning relying solely on the tea to impart spice, and find a balance of tannic and sweet flavors amidst hot and cool palate sensations.



Darjeeling is known to tea connoisseurs to have a muscatel flavor with a cooling effect apparent in the aftertaste. I'm a tea novice, a challenge soon to be rectified with a tea journey or two with a friend and tea afficianado. Nonetheless, happening upon darjeeling and knowing a little about it from the most basic of research caused me to dream up a daring pairing. The darjeeling (2 bags) were steeped for 10 minutes in 3 cups of boiling water. After tempering 1/2 cup of arborio risotto in olive oil, I added the darjeeling, covered, and simmered for 20 minutes. At this point, I raised the heat to high and continuously stirred to get the characteristic risotto sauce formed. This was then plated in a cylindrical mold, coated with raw honey, and sprinkled with a fine dusting of dehydrated hot hatch chile flakes.

I really like Jeffrey Steingarten's litmus test for dishes: in this instance, I would eat it again and I would pay for it, so a successful dish by this measure. Different, a semi-savory dessert with a kick might be the best way to explain it, and the hot / cool mouth effect worked like a charm.