I’ve made this risotto as a side dish for many meals. It pairs very well with seafood, chicken, or even pork and makes about four servings. This is the basic form of the recipe which can be modified to your liking. I even made a lunch out of it once by adding sautéed mushrooms. Hard to go wrong!
Effort: Medium/Low (lots of stirring)
Time: 35 min
Ingredients:
3 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup White Wine (on the dry side is best)
1/4 cup Pine Nuts
1/4 cup Fresh Basil
1/4 Onion (yellow or sweet), minced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Prep work:
Toast the pine nuts in a pan on the stove. Be sure to toss them around in the pan to make sure they don’t burn.
Grate the parmesan if it is not already pre-grated. Chop the fresh basil into thin strips. Mince or finely chop about a quarter of a large onion and mince the garlic cloves. I use my trusty microplane and mince everything straight into the pot as I am cooking, but you can prepare it ahead of time if you prefer.
Warm your stock to near boiling. I just use a glass measuring pitcher and stick it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Bringing it together:
Heat the olive oil in a pot; add onion into the pot as the oil is heating. Sauté the onion for a couple of minutes until it begins to sizzle and turn translucent. Then add the garlic and stir it around for another minute.
Add the Arborio rice to the pot and stir it around for 2 or 3 minutes until all the grains are coated and the rice starts to smell nice and rice-y.
Add the first cup of stock and stir until the rice has soaked it in, add the second cup and repeat, stirring fairly regularly (about once a minute or more often if you are impatient like me).
Once the liquid has been absorbed, add the final cup of broth and stir until it’s about half absorbed, then add the wine, Parmesan, pine nuts. Incorporate everything well, then add the Basil. Finish with salt and pepper to your taste. This is an instance when I really like to use my truffle salt since the flavor has a chance to shine through the simplicity of the risotto. There you have it a fantastic side dish for dinner, or turn it into satisfying lunch by adding sautéed veggies. Buon appetito!
