[CH] Hotto Risotto!
Doug Irvine (dougandmarie@home.com)
Fri, 04 Feb 2000 19:01:32 -0800
Last evening, my much better half, found a recipe for Risotto in one of
her cooking magazines, and said" That would be nice for a change" like
as in...We aint had risotto for ages! So, because the old man is always
open to suggestions from "She Who is Sometimes, Obeyed", this time I did
it. Now, if you have not done risotto, all of you non Italians, and I
aint one either, then be aware that it is "piddly" in other words, takes
a lotta time to do, and there aint no way around it, either, or I would
have found it. You MUST have Arborio rice, you MUST have a lot of good
chicken stock, but the thing you really must have is a lotta patience,
and be prepared to stand at the stove, stirring like mad for as long as
it takes for that stuff to get done. Ya add stock, stir, let it
disappear, add more stock, stir, and let it disappear also, until you
have added all of the stock, and the rice is really creamy, with stock,
that is, not cream....So, now that you know what you are up against, if
you are ready to proceed, read on! If you aint!, then quit now...I
warned you! Right, Rael? Right, John Whalen?
5 cups of GOOD chicken stock
2 tbls olive oil
1 tbls butter(real stuff)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion, white or red
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 1/4 cups of Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine, good stuff! pour a full cup, and throw the
rest down the sink??
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese, I use a blend of
both, my blend
1/2 tsp of Calvins powder, or if you wish to have it smokey, Jim C's
hab powder. Add more if you wish, but taste it!
First get the chicken stock hot in a pot, and keep it warm....add the
chile powder now, and taste, if it aint hot enuf, add more! In a heavy
bottom saucepan, I use Reverware, add the olive oil and the butter,
heat, and then add the garlic and onion and cook until softened.
Add the rice, unwashed!, to the pot and keep stirring, until all of the
grains are covered with the oil mix, then add the white wine(the stuff
you aint drunk, yet), and stir, constantly, until the liquid is
absorbed. Then, and here is the hard part...add the stock, 1/2 cup at a
time, stirring while the stock is absorbed, and continue adding, 1/2
cup, and stirring, until all of the stock is gone.....the rice at this
point should be soft, creamy, but not soupy, and each grain should be
tender, but firm.As in Al a Dente...to the tooth! This really is a pain
in the butt to make, but it is great, worth the effort, as any Italian
Momma will tell you....stir in the parmesan cheese, add salt and pepper
to taste, freshly chopped parsley if you wish, and seerve it! The
addition of the ground peppers, truly makes this a chile head dish to
remember....with the cheese, you may add cooked shrimp, cooked
mushrooms, cooked peas(risi bisi), or even more chopped chiles...use yer
imagination! Have fun.....I have not posted a recipe for a week or so,
bout time, huh? Cheers, Doug in BC