Risotto!

I actually made risotto. Yep.


I consider this a hard recipe in the sense that I've heard some horror stories about how easy it is to screw up. Once again, I must thank Canadian Living for the recipe! I added mushrooms, they weren't there originally, but I think they make it better.

Smoked Cheese Risotto

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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This recipe makes 4 servingsTop of Form

Ingredients

2 cups vegetable broth 2 2cups cups(500 mL) (500 mL) vegetable broth or sodium-reduced chicken broth
2 tbsp butter 2 2tbsp tbsp(25 mL) (25 mL) butter
1 tbsp olive oil 1 1tbsp tbsp(15 mL) (15 mL) olive oil
1 large shallot , (or half small onion)diced1 1large shallotshallots, (or half small onion) diced
1 small clove garlic , minced1 1small clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 1/4tsp tsp(1 mL) (1 mL) salt
1-1/2 cups arborio rice 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cups(375 mL) (375 mL) arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine 1/2 1/2cup cup(125 mL) (125 mL) white wine
4 oz smoked cheese , (such as provolone, mozzarella or Gouda),shredded4 4oz oz(113 g) (113 g) smoked cheese, (such as provolone, mozzarella or Gouda), shredded [I used smoked Gruyere, works great for this recipe!]
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese , (approx)1/4 1/4cup cup(50 mL) (50 mL) grated Parmesan cheese, (approx)
2 tbsp minced fresh chives 2 2tbsp tbsp(25 mL) (25 mL) minced fresh chivefresh chives or parsley

4-5 mushrooms of choice, either White button or Crimini are good, chopped 

Preparation:

In small saucepan, bring broth and 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) water to boil. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

In large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the butter and oil over medium-high heat; saute shallot, garlic and salt until softened but not coloured, about 3 minutes. Chuck in mushrooms and stir.

Add rice, stirring to coat and toast grains. Add wine; cook, stirring, until almost no liquid remains.

Begin adding 4 cups (1 L) of the broth mixture 1/2 cup (125 mL) at a time, stirring after each addition and letting rice absorb most of the liquid before adding more, about 20 minutes in total. Taste before adding last cup (rice should be loose, creamy but not mushy and still slightly firm in centre).

Add smoked cheese and remaining broth mixture; cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese and remaining butter. Sprinkle with chives, and more Parmesan if desired. 

Cool eh? Check out my attempts to be fancy by adding a flourish of green onions. 

Soooooooooo good. Really pleased with how this turned out. Keeps well in the fridge as well.

On a side note, two of my friends got married recently. We're all quite thrilled and proud of them for tying the knot. And for providing a sushi free-for-all as part of the reception. It also provided my new favorite quote about sushi. The groom and his family are East-Indian/Trinidadian and the bride's is Chinese. The groom loves his Chinese and Japanese food, specifically sushi, but it's not for everyone.

Groom's friend: Dude, do your parents even like sushi?

Groom: No. But they're gonna!

 Congratulations Keith and Sally!! All the best for the future!