CREAMY RISOTTO

Ingredients

1 cup White wine
1 oz Dried Portobelo mushrooms
½ stk Butter
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/4 cup Minced Shallots
1 ea Onion, medium size, finely chopped
2-6 ea Cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped
1 tsp Basil, dried or if using fresh, 1 tablespoon chopped
1 ½ cups Arborio rice, uncooked
3 cups Chicken stock, should be hot but not boiling
1 ½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
½ cup Grated pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan

Directions

Put the wine in a microwave safe dish and heat it to just under a boil. Place the mushrooms in the hot wine and leave them set for 30 minutes to soften. If you are using fresh mushrooms, don't soak them. Drain the mushrooms, save the liquid and slice and cut up the mushrooms. If there is sand in the mushroom juice, strain it through a coffee filter before you save it. Place the butter and olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat and add the onions, shallots and garlic. Stir and cook it until the onions are translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir for another 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir for 5 minutes until the rice is well coated with the oil and has become translucent. Add the saved wine and stir constantly until the wine is all absorbed. Add ½ cup of the hot stock at a time, stirring constantly until the ½ cup of stock is absorbed. Then add another ½ cup of hot stock and keep repeating this process until the stock is about all absorbed. It should take about 25 minutes. Taste the risotto. It should be tender and creamy but still al dente. Add the salt, pepper and the grated cheese and stir to mix. Serve immediately.

Listed below is another version of this same dish with sea food added to it. There are as many versions of risotto in this world as there are Italians, and all of them are delicious to eat. Here is another version.

RISOTTO WITH SEAFOOD

Ingredients, Main Part

2 cups Arborio rice, raw
4 tbsp Butter or canola oil
1 ea Onion, finely diced
1 ea Clove garlic, finely chopped and crushed
6 cups Chicken broth, hot
1 cup White wine
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup Parmesan cheese and/or Romano, grated
2 tbsp Butter (optional)
½ lb Shrimp, small, cooked and peeled

Marinade

½ lb Cod, raw, diced (or other firm white fish)
½ lb Scallops, small
1/3 cup Lime juice


Place the cod and scallops in a plastic bowl, add the lime juice, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Mushrooms

½ cup Fresh mushrooms, sliced (can be canned)
2 ea Cloves garlic, finely chopped and crushed
1 tsp Olive oil

Put the olive oil in a frying pan, heat the pan over medium low heat. Saute the mushrooms and garlic until most of the water has been cooked off.

Directions For Main Part

Heat a six quart saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of canola oil or butter, add the rice and stir well to coat. Stir occasionally until the rice turns a light golden brown. Add the onion and garlic and continue to saute and stir over medium heat until the onion is clear and tender. Add the cup of white wine. Stir and allow the rice to absorb the wine.

When the wine is about gone, add the hot chicken broth, one cup at a time, stirring occasionally. Don't let the rice cook dry. Keep over medium heat and add the chicken broth as it cooks down. There should never be a lot of chicken broth standing above the rice.

When all of the broth has been added, and the rice is tender, add the mushrooms and stir. Bring mixture back to the heat.

Drain the scallops and fish of any excess juice and add them and the shrimp to the pot. Stir. Bring the mixture back to the heat.

Serve immediately while still hot.

MICRO WAVE RISOTTO

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Olive oil
4 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Prosciutto or hard cured ham
1 ea Medium onion, chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups Chicken stock, hot
½ cup Dry white wine
½ tsp Mexican saffron threads
3/4 cup Parmigiano or Pecarino Romano Cheese, grated

Method

Place the olive oil and two tablespoons of butter in a microwaveable bowl and microwave to melt. Remove the bowl and add the prusciutto and onion. Stir and microwave 2 ½ minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and stir, coating each grain of rice with the above mixture. Add 2 cups of broth and stir. Microwave on high for 7 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Stir and add the wine and the rest of the remaining stock. Microwave on high for 9 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the bowl from the microwave and add the saffron and stir. Add the cheese and stir again. Stir in the remaining butter and salt and pepper to taste. Let set for one minute and serve immediately. Microwave ovens vary so cooking times are approximate.

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