An Anemic Pictorial

I will never forget the first time I ate Risotto. Scott and I were living in Davis Square and found this little hole-in-the-wall Mediterranean restaurant in an old pizza place, across the street from the Salvation Army. The Savannah Grill had no more than 10 tables but the service and food were always fantastic. Each meal started with a complimentary plate of grilled pita, Italian bread, hummus, kalamata olives and tomato spread. The Savannah Grill's stay in Davis Square was short lived, but Scott and I enjoyed some of our best meals together there.

I remember the cold March night we trekked in and I first discovered Risotto. It was served as a side dish with the sauteed chicken. I instantly fell in love with the texture and creaminess. It was like rice but with actual flavor. Finally!

I went home and, without a recipe, I attempted and failed to duplicate the dish. I couldn't understand why my Uncle Ben's just wasn't cutting it. That was seven long years ago and now Risotto is a staple in our house. It is my ultimate comfort food. There's nothing better than a bowl of creamy Risotto and a glass of white wine after a trying day.

I think how you cook Risotto is even more important than what you put into it. This dish can be made 100 ways, so the ingredients change but the technique does not. Once you have a good Risotto base, the possibilities are endless. That's why I'm doing a pictorial blog for this dish.

I like to start by heating 3 TBSP of oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or small stock pot. I also have a sauce pan with 4 cups of good quality chicken stock over low heat on the stove. You want your stock to be warm for this dish.



Start by sauteing 1 cup of diced onions and 4 cloves of minced garlic over medium heat. You can use a mirepoix if you're so inclined. I didn't have any carrots or celery in the house tonight.



When the onions turn translucent it's time add 1 cup of white wine. Tonight I had some Chardonnay open in the wine fridge so that's what I used. Crank up the heat to medium-high and let the wine simmer and reduce by half. This will probably take 3-4 minutes.



Once your wine has reduced, turn the heat back down to medium and stir in 1 cup of Aborio Rice. It's important that you use Aborio rice and not, say, Uncle Ben's as I did on my first attempt. Just trust me on this. Learn from my youthful indiscretions. You can find Aborio in the rice aisle of any super market. Stir the Aborio rice and the onions and the wine together and let the rice soak up the liquid. Now you're ready to slowly start adding your chicken stock.




This is the most tedious part of making Risotto, but it's also the most important. Add your liquid one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. When the rice soaks up most of the liquid it's time to add in another ladle. I'm using Chicken Stock, but if you're a vegetarian, you can use vegetable stock. If you're making a seafood risotto, you could use a fish stock. The beauty of this dish truly is it's versatility.



You'll know when it's time to add more liquid because the rice will become thick and the liquid will be gone from the bottom of the pan. Just keep adding liquid, stirring and repeating until the four cups of stock are gone. I do this over medium heat, sometimes having to adjust it down a smidge.




It can be so tempting to turn the heat up or add more liquid to speed up the process. I don't recommend that because this will yield hard, sticky rice. We want smooth and creamy not hard and sticky. From start to finish this process takes roughly 30 minutes. Once you've used all of your liquid, you'll want to taste the risotto and add any salt or pepper needed to season the dish. I never do it at the beginning because it's hard to tell just how much salt you'll need with the chicken stock. Also, if the rice is still hard, you may need to break out another can of stock and add more. I've found that 4 cups of liquid is the perfect amount for 1 cup of dry rice.



When all of your liquid has been added and absorbed by the rice, it's time to stir in 2 tablespoons of butter and .25 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.




Once the butter and cheese have been incorporated into the rice, remove the pan from heat, cover it and don't touch it for 5 minutes. Or, at this point you can add whatever add-ins you're adding in. Mushrooms, chicken, seafood, cooked asparagus. Whatever floats your boat. Today I added in a cup of frozen peas, thawed but not cooked. That's what I usually put in my standard Risotto. After you stir in your extras, then cover the pot and let it sit off the heat for 5 minutes. Go pour yourself a (nother) glass of wine.



It doesn't look like much, but when cooked correctly, Risotto does not disappoint.

Risotto

3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup of onions, diced
4 Cloves garlic, diced
1 Cup dry white wine
4 Cups Chicken Stock, heated
1 Cup Aborio Rice
2 TBSP Butter
.25 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat 3 TBSP of Olive Oil over medium heat.

Sautee onions and garlic until translucent

Add 1 cup of white wine. Simmer over medium high until reduced by half.

Add in Aborio and stir to absorb wine.

Begin adding warm stock one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed. Repeat until all stock has been added to the rice. Approximately 30 minutes.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in 2 TBSP of butter and .25 cup of parmesan cheese.

Add in thawed peas. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Makes 4 side servings