I have never had risotto and I’m not sure why. It definitely has all the right, delicious ingredients… it’s easily vegetarian, and it’s always being talked about in Hell’s Kitchen (I love Hell’s Kitchen- those girls on this season be craaaaaaaaazy!).
So, yesterday I decided to take the plunge and lose my risotto virginity. I mean, for crying out loud, I’m 28 years old – It’s time to grow up!
Using the following recipe (altered from a Chatelaine recipe I found), I forged ahead:
3 cups vege broth
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup grated cheese
asparagus
- Combine broth with 1 cup water in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low to keep warm.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft but not browned, 3 to 4 min. Add rice and stir until glossy, about 1 min. Add wine and stir often until rice has absorbed all of the liquid, 2 to 3 min. Add 1/2 cup of broth mixture. Stir often until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, 3 to 4 min. Continue adding broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until absorbed. Keep heat between medium and medium-low so mixture is just simmering. Stir often until rice is just tender to the bite. The entire stirring and cooking process will take about 25 to 28 min. Risotto should be slightly saucy but not soupy. Remove from heat.
- Trim asparagus into 1 inch pieces, roll in olive oil and pepper and bake in 425 degree oven for 4 minutes
- Stir in parmesan and cooked asparagus. Serve immediately.
I kept stirring, stirring, stirring – all the while smiling to myself as I imagined Gordon Ramsey losing his shit at the soupy consistency.
But then, like a Christmas miracle, the rice softened and the soup was no more. Risotto: done.
I decided to make two batches of this risotto, one for myself, and one for my meat eating husband. With his, I just cooked scallops and shrimp with butter and garlic and folded it in once the risotto was finished cooking. No biggie.
Verdict? My first experience with risotto was… meh. Really, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. For the amount of yelling it generates from Mr. angry face, I guess I just expected it to be a little more….. exciting? To be fair, I probably will make it again. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the recipe or the way it turned out, it was just a little underwhelming. Dan loved his seafood risotto – so I think next time I will just have to try something a little more advanced.
Does anyone else have a great risotto recipe they can suggest? (Keeping in mind that although I am a vegetarian, I hate mushrooms).
The best part about this risotto is that the following day, with the leftovers, I made Crispy Mozzarella Risotto Cakes. Now these were great. They were perfect for my occasional (I swear!) post-run, high calorie gorge fest – Hot Sauce is highly recommended.