Risotto

This was my first attempt at risotto and it turned out quite well! There was a little too much onion, so I've suggested less in the recipe. I mentioned on the Cooking Rice post that I've had my share of issues with rice cookery so I was a little fearful of how this would turn out. This is different from regular rice though since you're monitoring it the whole time and I liked that there wasn't any guesswork. This recipe does require almost constant attention so don't make it while you're trying to sear chicken or do a million other things. It's great when you're making a main dish that doesn't require your attention like a stew, roast chicken, or something in your crockpot. The recipe is adapted from a number of recipes I read, including one from Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats cookbook. Crazy though, she said she made this for her dog. Poor Reilly only gets steamed rice ;)


Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 of a small onion
• 1 cup of arborio rice*
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper

Prep

1. Peel and finely chop your onion. I'd chop it up smaller than what you see in my pic and would suggest using about half as much as I did.
2. Peel and finely chop your garlic

3. Add your chicken broth to a small saucepan and warm over medium heat.

Cook

1. Heat your 2 TBSP olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan.
2. After the oil has warmed for a minute or so, add your onion, followed by your garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add your 1 cup of dry rice to your onion and garlic and stir, cooking for a couple more minutes.

4. Add your 1/2 cup of wine and turn up the heat to medium high. Cook for 3-4 minutes until most of the wine has cooked away.
5. Add about 2 ladles full of your warm chicken stock - enough to just cover the rice - and stir. Keep stirring for several minutes until the mixture gets kind of gummy. Then add another couple of ladles full of stock. Repeat this for about 20 minutes.

6. Give your rice a taste to make sure it's tender. If it's not, keep adding stock and cooking it away until your rice is tender.
7. If you can't serve your rice immediately, reserve some of your stock to add back at the last minute as you warm it up. You want the final texture to be very starchy but still a little soupy too.
8. Add in your parmesan cheese just before you serve. Taste and add salt and pepper if it needs it. Enjoy!

Notes

* Arborio Rice - You can find this along with all of your regular rice in the grocery. Arborio is a shorter grain of rice used specifically for risotto.