This one is a little old– my sister and I had thought that we wanted to host a dinner party. But between my dissertation deadlines and her rocky romantic relationship, we ended up just cooking dinner for my parents, Eric, and a friend. We had read the recipe for a pan-roasted fish on risotto in Bon Appetit’s RSVP column and decided it looked good.
I love risotto and cook it often. This makes ordering it in restaurants dangerous, because I almost always find that restaurant risotto is underdone, or not creamy enough. My general recipe for risotto is:
Warm up at least a quart, preferably more (6 cups) of broth (chicken of vegetable, depending on who you are serving)
Take a soup pot or dutch oven, heat it and add some olive oil to cover the bottom
Add chopped shallots or onion, saute until soft
Add 1 cup of Arborio rice, stir it into the oil and onions until it begins to crackle a little
Add some white wine, stir until it is evaporated/absorbed
Begin adding stock– two ladlefuls, stir until it is absorbed. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, one at a time, and stirring until it is absorbed.
After you have added most of the broth, begin tasting. When the rice is soft and creamy, add whatever additions you would like– we like frozen petite peas and parmigiano-reggiano (or just plain parmesan) cheese. After you have added all your additions, salt and pepper to taste.
This is not an exact science, the most important parts are to saute the rice in olive oil before adding broth, and keep adding liquid until it is cooked to your liking. Don’t stop adding liquid just because your pot of broth is empty– add some more liquid to that pot and warm it up (even water if you like), or your risotto will be chalky rather than creamy.
The dish pictured certainly fits our title of “nothing is fat free.” It had a stick of butter and plenty of heavy cream in it. It was flavorful and delicious, the perfect meal for an early fall evening. And, having been to a bridal shower earlier in the day, I had to serve it on my wedding china just to prove that brides really do use all that expensive stuff they register for.
