The key to properly cooking risotto is to have a pan of chicken stock simmering next to your pan.
Creamy and savory, Risotto is a great side dish for any meal, not just Italian. Any recipe you find will tell you to use Arborio rice (and I’m sure that would make the best risotto) but I’m not trying to impress Gordon Ramsey and I learned that if you crack your long grain white rice in a blender first your risotto will still get soft & creamy.
1 cup white rice (Arborio is recommended for the creamiest risotto).
½ cup white wine
4-6 cups chicken broth
½ cup Parmigiana cheese
½ Tbsp butter
A few sprigs of fresh basil, minced
Instructions
Heat up the chicken broth in a sauce pan.
If not using Arborio rice, pulse your long grain white rice in a food processor or blender to break the grains in half and expose the starch.
Heat the oil in another sauce pan over medium high heat, and lightly cook the onion until soft.
Add the garlic and cook until the garlic blooms.
Add the rice, and stir it through to coat with the oil, cook until the rice is opaque and smells a little toasty.
Add the wine and stir it so that the rice absorbs it evenly.
When the wine is absorbed, reduce the heat to low and start adding the chicken stock a ladle at a time, stirring continuously and allowing the rice time to absorb the broth before adding more. This will take 20-30 minutes.
Check the rice by tasting to make sure it us getting soft – it can look creamy but some of the rice could still be crunchy. Keep adding broth until it is the right consistency and completely cooked.
To finish, stir in the cheese, the butter, and the basil.
