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I. Love. Risotto. This classic Italian dish is comfort food at its the absolute finest. I first made it a few years for a Valentine’s Day dinner and it’s since entered regular rotation as a special meal when the weather starts to get just a bit chillier outside. It’s the favorite dish that I make for several people, and so I thought I’d share the recipe with everybody. It’s not nearly as hard to make as everybody seems to think. Contrary to popular opinion, you can actually step away from the stove and leave it for a few moments. I would recommend using a high-sided sauté pan, which gives good surface area, but keeps everything in the pan. If you don’t have one, you can actually use a wok (I’ve done it, it works) or anything else that’s got a wide base and high sides (like a big pot).
Ingredients
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 sausage (anything not too sweet)
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I like cremini)
1/2 cup peas
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Fry up your sausage and mushrooms and put them aside for later.
2. In a frying pan, heat a little bit of olive oil on a medium-low heat and add the rice, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Sautee until the rice becomes just slightly translucent, about three minutes.
3. Bring your stock to a simmer in a separate pot.
4. Add the cup of wine and enough stock to just cover the rice. You can add your meat, mushrooms, and peas here.
5. Add more stock as the liquid in the pan become mostly absorbed by the rice. Stir regularly.
6. Check the rice periodically and when it’s just about done, add the cheese and butter and stir into the rice. When the liquid is absorbed, but it’s still creamy, and the rice is al dente, it’s finished!
Variations on a Theme: You can do a lot of things with risotto. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken if you’re cooking for vegetarians. You can use any cheese you like, really, provided its not too salty and it melts well. Red wine can also be used instead of white, and the matter of veggies is really up to you. I’ve used asparagus, squash, shallots, whatever I feel like, really.
