Valentines Day in a Rice Cooker

If I could have worked out how to make crab terrine in a rice cooker it would have been a clean sweep, but as it was Mrs Cook Japan had to make do with 2 courses from my favourite appliance…risotto (her request) and a dessert of strawberry and rhubarb compote…

…time for the sweetness later, with the terrine taken care off it was another run out for risotto in the rice cooker.  On the menu this evening was Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto…an absolute breeze and very tasty (although could have perhaps been a tad moister)…

It really is so easy to cook risotto in a rice cooker…braise the shallots in oil and butter, add the rice and cook for a few minutes, then in goes the asparagus and mushrooms followed by chicken stock and pop the whole thing on the “Porridge” (or risotto setting depending on which machine) for 20-minutes and hey presto…

The dessert was made this morning to save some time, then served chilled with good quality vanilla ice cream.  Again super easy in the rice cooker…first cook rhubarb with water and sugar for 20-minutes then add the strawberries and cook for a further 40-minutes or so…

Incredibly simple, but a great dessert full of flavour and amazingly refreshing…