i've never made risotto. i've heard of it, tasted it once, seen emeril make it on his show, but never prepared it myself. first of all, it took me a few trips to the grocery store to find it. the first time i printed off a recipe from food network, went looking for the ingredients, and found everything except arborio rice! the second time i was buying ingredients for other things to make but thought i saw the rice out of the corner of my eye in aisle number eight, which houses the "ethnic foods" and canned goods. yesterday i remembered the previous two trips and that i had clipped a recipe from the newspaper months ago. i went in hoping that the stars would align and i could once again locate the arborio rice, and i totally did!
cheddar cheese risotto
printed in the minneapolis star tribune (date unknown),
adapted from "nigella express" by nigella lawson
makes 4 servings
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 small leeks or 2 large green onions, finely sliced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
3 cans (14 1/2 oz each) hot vegetable broth
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp chopped chives
to cook leeks: heat butter and oil in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. add leeks. cook for 5 minutes or until softened.
to cook rice: add rice. cook, stirring, for 1 minute. increase heat to high. stir in wine and mustard. cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until wine is absorbed. add 1 ladle of hot broth. cook for 5 minutes or until broth is absorbed. repeat, adding broth and cooking, until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.
to add cheese: stir in cheese until it melts. remove pan from heat, still stirring. spoon into warm dishes. garnish with chopped chives.
yummy! i didn't realize risotto was so easy to make until i made it myself. and now that i understand the process i'm excited to experiment with different flavor combinations. i feel like cheese risotto is kind of like an adult version of mac n cheese. gooey, hot, and comforting. why did it take me so long to make this?!
