Risotto is the perfect dish to make when you’re spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Listening to a great 3-hour podcast? Risotto. Sipping wine and staring out the window with nothing to do? Risotto. Waiting for the oven to cycle through a self-cleaning? Risotto.
You get the idea.
Risotto is, essentially, a short-grained, high-starch rice that slowly sautés on the stovetop, soaking up more and more liquid until it becomes creamy with the mixture of released starch and added liquid. Short-grained and expensive Arborio rice is the top choice for making risotto. However- and this is an important, horrible secret I wish to share- you can make it with regular, old long-grained rice with almost the exact same results.
I don’t know about you, but I rarely have that confluence of circumstances that results in having (a) a lot of time in the kitchen with (b) some Arborio rice to hand. I generally keep a pretty good supply of the regular old stuff, though, and swear on my nonstick skillet that the end results will be completely edible and delicious despite not costing an arm and a leg.
Frozen vegetables will perform admirably in this application, though if it happens to be spring and you happen to be loaded with fresh produce, do feel free to go nuts and feel self-righteous all in the same breath.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup of white wine, plus 1 1/2 cups, separated
- 1 1/2 cups rice (Arborio if you feel precise, regular long-grained rice if you do not)
- 1 onion, diced very fine
- 5 cups of chicken stock, which you keep in your tea kettle (or a saucepan, though it isn’t nearly as much fun) on low heat
- 1/2 cup of frozen peas
- 6 – 8 oz of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 bunch asparagus, fresh- steamed in the microwave for 4 minutes, or frozen- prepared according to the instructions on the package
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese, shaved
PREPARATION
1. Pour yourself a glass of white wine (3/4 cup) and turn on the radio.
2. Mix 1 cup of the white wine with the chicken stock in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter melts, foams, and then stops foaming.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the rice and onion. Stir to coat the rice in the butter/oil mixture; sauté until the rice is very slightly golden and smells nutty, about 3 minutes.
4. Add 1/2 cup of the wine. Stir constantly until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the stock and stir every minute or so until the liquid is absorbed.
6. Pour yourself another (3/4 cup) glass of wine.
7. Continue adding 1/2 cup of the stock and stirring until the risotto looks extremely creamy and no more stock will be absorbed, anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes. Taste it regularly near the end to ensure the rice grains are not hard at the center.
8. When the risotto is cooked to your personal satisfaction, add:
- 1/2 cup frozen peas (don’t bother thawing them)
- the mushrooms, which you have sauteed in a little butter in another skillet
- the asparagus, which you cut on the bias (diagonal) into 1/2 inch slices
- salt and pepper to taste
9. Stir all of the ingredients together until the peas have warmed through.
10. Serve on warm plates topped with Parmesan and, of course, more white wine.
