Only a few months ago, I was a complete risotto virgin. Now, I've made it about a half dozen times, and I'm starting to notice a little pattern. Start with finely chopped onions or shallots, saute in butter and oil until very soft. Add short grained rice making sure to get the rice nice and hot and fully coated with the oil. Then, add flavor with dry white wine, letting it simmer until it evaporates. Next, add warmed broth a cup and a half at a time, letting the broth be fully absorbed before you add the next cup, until all of the broth is gone. Turn off the heat, stir in Parmesan cheese. That's the backbone of risotto as far as I can tell. Today, mid-grocery shopping, I decided that I'd try a mushroom and pea risotto, so I brought home three portobello mushroom caps and a bag of frozen peas. I googled a recipe and found this, which led me to this, both of which gave me the clues I needed to make a risotto with ingredients I'd never used before. First, add the mushrooms early on - after heating up the rice, and before adding the first cup of broth. Second clue: cook the peas separately using part of the heated broth, and add at the very end, just a few minutes before turning off the heat.
Now, apparently, there is a lot more to risotto than I ever imagined, but for now, my inexperienced efforts have always resulted in the rice being perfectly cooked and the overall flavor being nicely balanced. I've found that adding something green (like parsley or peas) adds a nice visual freshness. And, while I've tried several different store-bought broths, I think my favorite so far is Swanson's Organic Vegetable. Overall, I'm finding that risotto is the perfect comfort food for me: creamy, warm, and I can eat it with a spoon from a bowl. Yum.
