Risotto--Is it for the Everyday Cook?

Missy Tippens, here. Being The Belle around the Cafe, you know how much I love grits. I think I've even shared a recipe. But I also love rice. And one of my favorite dishes is risotto.

That's a pain to make, you say! You have to stand around and stir for forever!

Well, when I've made it, I only did the bare necessities, and it turned out fine. Then lo and behold, I happened to find this video from Martha Stewart's channel, Everyday Food with Sarah Carey (she has fantastic videos!). (click here)

Sarah shares a way to make risotto without having to chain yourself to the stove.

Here are her listed ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, diced small
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigiot
• 4 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (1/4 ounce)

Note: I sometimes like to add chopped asparagus and maybe some mushrooms. This day, I used chopped fresh spinach, about a cup of leaves finely chopped--to hide it from the kids! I think they assumed it was parsley. :)

In a large skillet, melt half the butter and cook shallots until translucent. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until all the grains are well coated and getting clear around the edges. Add spinach and wilt. 

Stir in the wine and cook until it's mostly cooked away.

Add 4 cups of broth (reserving the extra 1/4 cup) and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is almost absorbed, about 25 minutes, according to Sarah. (I set my timer and stirred every 10 minutes so I could check to make sure it wasn't dried out.)

Midway through

At 20 minutes, before stirring for 5 minutes

Uncover and cook, stirring constantly (about 5 minutes), until rice is creamy and tender. If it's too thick, stir in some of the remaining broth to loosen it.

Nice and creamy and ready to eat!

Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan and the rest of the butter. (note: 2 tablespoons of parmesan???? I added at least a quarter of a cup!) :)

Season with pepper. Serve and enjoy! You, too, can make this delicious dish.

Missy
www.missytippens.com