Ricco Risotto

I don't eat risotto very often, but in Italy risotto is a very common dish seen on a restaurant menu. There are many varieties with seafood, cheese, any type of vegetable such as peas or asparagus, and even sometimes meat, but not as often as seafood, cheese, or vegetables. Coming to Italy made me realize that there are so many things that I haven't tried and that I need to experience before leaving.

Risotto is a rice that has broth added to it to create the creamy consistency that it has. There are a variety of different types of broth you can add to the risotto such as chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, or even just water. It just depends what kind of flavor you want for your risotto and what you are going to be adding to it so that it can have a well-balanced flavor. Risotto is one of the most common ways to cook rice in Italy. One of the most common types of rice to use is a long grain rice called arborio because it has a high starch, low amylose concentration so that it can absorb liquid well and release starch to create a thicker, creamier consistency.

Risotto is not a very difficult dish to make however it does require some patience because it takes time for the rice to absorb the liquid. It also takes some careful watching because you need to continuously add the liquid until it becomes thick and creamy enough, which can take awhile because the rice can absorb a lot of liquid. One risotto recipe that I made included gorgonzola and onions, which was actually very delicious although you might think the gorgonzola might be too strong of a cheese, it really isn't in this particular dish.

Here is the recipe:

500g Arborio rice
50g of olive oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 a glass of dry white wine, warmed
1 1/2 quarts Vegetable broth, simmering
200g Gorgonzola cheese
1 Tbsp cream

Sauté the minced onion in the oil over a low flame until it is just golden. Remove the onion with a slotted spoon, turn the heat up slightly, and stir the rice into the drippings. Continue cooking for several minutes, stirring constantly so the rice doesn't stick.

Return the onion to the rice, stir in the wine and continue cooking until it has evaporated. Begin adding the vegetable broth a ladle at a time. When the rice is half cooked stir in the gorgonzola and continue adding broth until the rice is done, scraping your spoon across the bottom of the pot so the rice and cheese mixture doesn't stick and burn. When the rice reaches the al dente stage stir in the cream and serve.