Risotto 101

I've always wanted to make a homemade risotto.  Well, maybe not always, but recently.  I found a really easy, straight forward recipe by Giada.

Oh my goodness was it good!  It was creamy and buttery and delicious!

But something to note about risotto...it takes time and patience and stirring. 

Lots of butter, too.  Not this much butter, but a lot.

And more stirring. You can't really leave the pot's side.  You should have a glass of wine handy.

Recipie from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

What you"ll need:

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

3 Tbls butter

3/4 cup finely chopped onion (from 1 onion)

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How you do it:

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer.  Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat.

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 Tbls of the butter of medium heat.  Add the onion and suate until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes.  Add the rice and stir to coat with butter.  Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.  Continue coking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the salt and pepper.  Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

I added some chopped mushrooms and it was delicious!  

I added them a little bit after the onions.