Nicole & Ed's Risotto
Author: Nicole
Ingredients
  • Main additions (veggies, meat, nuts, etc) - see below
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • ½ cup dry wine (white or red)
  • 3 cups broth/stock (chicken, beef, fish or vegetable)
  • ⅓ cup grated cheese
  • fresh basil or parsley, chopped
Instructions
  1. Additions: You can add anything you want to risotto. Whatever you add cook separately (sauté, steam or roast in oven at 400°F with olive oil) and add to the rice mixture just before it is done. Suggestions include: asparagus, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, eggplant, squash, shellfish, prosciutto and various nuts (toasted first). The flavors you pair will dictate both the type of broth and wine you use – white wine with chicken, vegetable or fish broth and red wine with beef broth.
  2. In a stockpot or large saucepan, bring the broth to a gentle simmer over low heat.
  3. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Sauté the shallots until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the rice and sauté until it’s glistening and well coated with the shallots, about 3 minutes.
  4. Raise the heat to medium and add the wine. Stir until it almost evaporates, about 2 minutes. Using a ladle, add about 1 cup hot broth. Stir constantly until the broth has been adsorbed. Add another ladleful of broth and keep stirring until it’s been adsorbed.
  5. Continue the process, adding broth ½ cup at a time and stirring in this way until the kernels are plump and no longer chalk white in the center. This should take 25-30 minutes altogether. The rice is almost done when the kernels are still separate but starting to bind, and there are pools of broth on the surface. It’s done when the liquid has been adsorbed, and the kernels are bound in what looks like very ricey, yet somewhat creamy, rice pudding (and the rice doesn’t stick to your teeth when you taste it). You don’t have to use all of the broth.
  6. When the risotto is nearly done, add additional (precooked) ingredients and stir well until all of the liquid has been adsorbed. Remove from heat; stir in grated cheese and sprinkle with chopped fresh basil or parsley. Serve immediately with additional cheese on the table.
Notes
Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Quantities: 2 people = 1 cup rice = 3 cups broth = ½ cup wine = 2 shallots 3-4 people = 2 cups rice = 6 cups broth = 1 cup wine = 4 shallots 5-6 people = 3 cups rice = 9 cups broth = 1½ cups wine = 6 shallots
Recipe by Riegl Palate at https://www.rieglpalate.com/nicole-eds-risotto/