Italian Recipe #4: Risotto With Red Wine

Risotto is delicious to eat but I don’t like to cook it because, like custard (also delicious to eat) it requires ages of stirring which is boring and tiring. It also intimidates me a little. But if you can put up with the stirring, it’s actually really easy to make and the results are worth it. Risotto is supposed to take about 30 minutes to prepare, but I’ve never completed one in much less than an hour. The dish is basically boiled rice and then just about anything can be added for flavoring. (Far more elegant and appetizing descriptions can be found online. Along with clearer instructions and better techniques.) For this recipe, I used red wine, mushrooms and prosciutto. The amounts and techniques below are for a recipe that makes enough for two hungry people. Adjust as necessary depending on your group.

Ingredient List:
1 Small Onion / Half a Medium Onion (finely minced, even food processored)
Butter
1 Bottle of red wine
1 to 1.5 liters of stock (brought to a boil and then kept simmering)
½ to 1 cup of Dry mushrooms (reconstituted, filter and add the liquid to your stock)
8-10 slices of Prosciutto (roughly chopped)
Parmesan cheese (grated, large handful)
Parsley (chopped, as final garnish)

Preparation:
Make the risotto. Eat. Har har.

In a large pot, prepare your stock. Either use a bouillon cube with hot water or some other prepared stock. As a main ingredient that will be absorbed by the rice, the better your stock, the better your results. You will bring it to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer it. You can do this while you prep the rice, just be sure the stock is hot by the time the rice is ready. Reconstitute your mushrooms during this time too. This takes about twenty minutes and they should be drained and roughly chopped so as to be ready as you're adding the rice to the pan.

While your stock is warming, add the chopped prosciutto to a large sauté pan and heat it until it begins to crisp. Once crispy, remove from the pan and set aside for later, leaving behind any fat. To this pan, melt a generous portion of butter (2-3 tablespoons) over medium to medium-low heat. When the butter is melted, add the onion and sauté (sweat?), without browning, until the onion is very, very, very soft. Add the mushrooms. Cook for a minute or two and then add the rice. How much rice? Depends on how many you’re cooking for. Read the box. Stir the rice until it’s well coated.

Now the fun starts and by fun I mean the misery. Get ready, you’re going to be stirring for a while. (Your stock should be simmering by now.) Add about 1-2 cups of wine to a glass. Set aside to drink while you’re stirring. Add another cup of wine to the rice. The heat should be around medium (depending on your stove) so that the alcohol in the wine boils off but not so that you’re burning things to the bottom of your pan. Constant stirring helps avoid the burning, sticking problem so just keep on stirring.

Just as most of the wine has been absorbed, add about a cup of broth (or enough that the rice is loosely floating in bubbling liquid, but not drowning in it). Make a note of the time. Stir. Repeat the adding broth, stirring, absorbing cycle for about the next thirty minutes. Keep the heat high enough during this time that the broth continues to boil and simmer while you’re stirring it into the rice, but not so high that you're burning things. As you get close to thirty minutes, begin tasting the rice. You want it to be soft, but remain as individual pieces, not turn into mush. When it’s creamy on the outside of the grain with just a bit of firmness at the center it’s almost ready.

Reduce the heat to low and add the grated cheese and another generous helping of butter, cubed for quick melting. When the cheese and butter have been incorporated, fold in the prosciutto, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

For the rest of the wine, drink with dinner…OR…take ripe peaches and remove the pit and roughly chop them. Add one chopped peach to a glass. Pour wine just over the top of the peaches and macerate. Eat, drink and enjoy. Dessert!

Buon appetito.