Garden Risotto

I love cooking risotto. Cooking is a stress reliever for me, and risotto is great in this capacity. It takes some time, constant stirring and an eye or feel for when it’s done. The dish is also something of a blank canvas, so get a good basic recipe and you can turn it into practically anything.

Simmer 6 cups of chicken stock in a saucepan first. Heat 2 tsp. of olive oil over a moderately low flame in a separate sauce pan. Add 1 medium chopped onion and cook until soft. Add 1 1/2 cups of Arborio (risotto) rice and cook for about a minute. The rice will begin turning translucent.

After a minute, add 3/4 cup dry white wine – S&P to taste. When the wine’s absorbed, add 3/4 cup of the simmering chicken stock to the riz stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to dry, add another ladle of stock. Keep doing this until the riz is soft and creamy. In the end, we stirred about 18 minutes and added about 4 full ladles (2 half ladles after we added the veggies).

At the end, flavor it to make it a dish. I added 1 cup of frozen peas, 3 cups of fresh spinach, 1/4 pound of steamed, chopped asparagus, 1/4 cup Parm and about a dozen shrimp. I love this risotto. It’s hearty, creamy and very comforting.

Unwind by cooking it, tuck in by eating it.