Tonight I was craving something creamy and rich. The ideas flew around in my head… alfredo, carbonara, etc. Then it hit me, rather than making a dish full of cream why not make risotto! The creaminess comes from stirring the arborio rice consistently releasing the starches. It’s a very filling dish and two cups of this pearly grain can feed four people or offer dinner plus lunch to just a household of two… I used half of a spanish onion [diced], minced garlic, dried porcini mushrooms [that I reconstituted, saved some of the liquid and chopped finely], a good dry white wine, and chicken stock. I sautéed the onion in olive oil, added the garlic and then added the rice and stirred to coat. I added the wine to cover the rice and the stirring began… Once the wine evaporated, I added some of the mushroom liquid and the first addition of warm stock until the rice was covered. Continued to stir until the liquid evaporated at which point the creaminess started to show itself… Two more stock additions followed, and with the third addition of stock, I then added the mushrooms and stirred until al-dente and the last of stock evaporated. Once al-dente, I added some grated pecorino and garnished with some minced parsley. Creamy, warm and just plain delicious!
at a low simmer…
-R
The Kitchen Guru 