First Risotto Success!
While I’ve enjoyed it a number of times, I’ve never made Risotto myself. I recently felt inspired to try doing it and found to be to fairly easy but also extremely delicious! This will definitely join my toolbelt of wonderful foods that are also fun to cook.
I used the directions on the back of the Waitrose Arborio rice package I bought with minor modifications:
- 250g Arborio rice
- 845 ml water + 2 beef bullion cubes
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-ish tbsp olive oil
- 77g pancetta (or more!)
- Butter, to serve
- Parmesan cheese, to serve
I diced the onion and crushed the garlic, then brought the olive oil to a shimmer in a large sauce pan. I added the onions and garlic and stirred to coat them with oil and cooked until things got clear but before they carmelized. Then I added the rice to the mixture and stirred continuously until everything was well mixed.
Then, cup by cup, I added the broth to the rice, stirring until the liquid was absorbed, and repeating until all of the broth was consumed. Meanwhile, I got the pancetta cooking in a small pan. Once the risotto had absorbed the liquid, I added the pancetta to it with a slotted spoon and stirred. I served with a bit of butter and as much parmesan cheese as I felt like, which means a lot.
In the future, I’d probably use vegetable broth for a more neutral taste if I wanted to combine the risotto with a seafood, but this was good for a rich taste.