PrintSunday Supper: Risotto Bianco
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.
Risotto Bianco
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
Ingredients
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
Procedure
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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5 Comments:
Ha, ha. A three-second ride on a mechanical bull, huh? Hmmm.
Your mention of Alice Waters reminded me that she is on the cover of Metropolis magazine - the new April issue, along with mention of Grant Achatz, if I remember right.
The issue is on kitchens.
P.S. Good recipe but improved by a side of Elizabeth David's osso bucco. :)
Karen Resta at 6:19PM on 04/12/08
Did the heavy drinking lead to the three-second mechanical bull ride?
If so, I'm hanging out with you. Haha.
wookie at 7:33PM on 04/12/08
Yes. The drinking wasn't super heavy—a couple of beers earlier in the evening, then a couple glasses of whiskey a few hours later—but it proved enough to try the damn bull. I figured, when was I ever going to be at that bar again?
Adam Kuban at 8:02AM on 04/13/08
This is almost identical to the very first risotto I ever made way back when I was a fairly inexperience newlywed cook trying to expand my repertoire.
I really had no idea was I was doing, and it still came out fantastic. After that first batch, I was hooked, naturally. I make many variations nowadays, but this is still my favorite. Thanks for sharing and bringing back fond memories (none of which involve mechanical bull riding!).
LoCo at 11:29AM on 04/13/08
AS a result of the above recipe, I bought the book. Risotto is not my stong point, but I'll give this one a try
The book is marvelous - several recipes on "brasing" are more than helpful on the technique and I've earmarked several recipes to try.
It's well put together and nicely illustrated. I found a used copy at a most reasonable price as well.
suegsf at 2:31AM on 04/17/08