Each Saturday evening we bring you a Sunday Supper recipe. Why on Saturday? So you have time to shop and prepare for tomorrow.
When I've overdone it during the week, I like to keep things simple on the weekends. And this week I overdid it, with two burgers* in one night, a fair amount of drinkin', and a three-second ride on a mechanical bull. The easy comfort of risotto bianco is sounding really good right now. The recipe that follows is adapted from the one in Alice Waters' book The Art of Simple Food. It doesn't really say in her book, probably because it's second nature to Ms. Waters, but with something as basic as risotto, you really have to use good-quality ingredients. Homemade chicken stock is ideal. I have some in my freezer, so I'm going to hit my stash for this. And I'll just pick up a good Italian Parmigiano.
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)
5 cups chicken broth (homemade preferable)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt, to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until it's soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the rice to the pan, stirring now and then, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Don't let it brown. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil and then turn off the heat.
3. Pour the white wine over the sautéed rice. Cook the rice, stirring often, until all wine is absorbed. Add a cup of the warm broth; cook at a vigorous simmer while stirring occasionally. When the rice starts to thicken, pour in another 1/2 cup of broth while adding some salt. (The amount of salt you add depends on how salty your broth is.) Keep adding broth 1/2 cup at a time every time the rice thickens. Don't let the rice dry out. After 12 minutes, start tasting the rice for doneness and seasoning. Cooking until rice is tender but still has some firmness to it—20 to 30 minutes total. The final 1/2 cup addition of broth is the most important. Add only enough to finish cooking the rice without it becoming soupy.
4. When it's just about done, add the butter and cheese and stir to develop a creamy starch. (If rice is too thick, add a splash of broth.)
*OK, so really, I only took a single bite of the second burger; it was so bad that I couldn't finish it.
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