Risotto

I told a friend I would send this to her... but since I have taken a vacation form cooking fancy food I thought I would offer it to all of you (all 2 of you).

I love risotto. It's made from a special kind of rice that will make it's own creamy sauce without cream. There are countless ways to dress it up. you can add peas or broccoli, mushrooms, if you roll that way (blah!), I like to put Parmesan cheese in mine with some broccoli. I have also put butternut squash in and that one is FANTASTIC!


1 qt stock of your choice- I use chicken most of the time
2 C Arborio rice (in the store it may be packaged as risotto rice)
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter

Heat the stock in a large pot over medium-high. You may want to add a cup or two of extra water. You want to keep this liquid warm, but not at a boil. Add butter and oil to a large skillet. Add rice and let cook for 2-3 minutes stirring to coat the rice. Then add about half of the liquid, turn the heat down to low just to maintain a simmer, keep uncovered. When the liquid has been absorbed add a little more about a cup at a time. Wait til it is absorbed then add a little more. It will take close to 20 minutes for the rice to cook completely.

Don't worry too much about getting too much liquid, you add it slowly so you'll know if it is getting too saturated, this is not likely to happen though, it's very "thirsty" rice.

*A couple more ideas for stir-ins: spinach, shredded zucchini, green onions, basil, sun ripened tomatoes, the possibilities are endless!