Busting the Risotto Myth

I have always wanted to make risotto but I was under the impression that risottos required heavy cream to give them their unique creaminess. As I finally took time to research risottos, I learned that not only is this not the case, but that most of them do not require heavy cream at all. I busted my first cooking myth so I decided to start with a very basic risotto from one of my vegetarian cookbooks.

The fun part of this recipe was making the stock from scratch. I have never made a stock other than soup stock from scratch and it was actually very easy. It also smelled wonderful as it simmered. Ingredients included leeks, an onion with skin on, celery stalk, garlic cloves, black peppercorns, fresh parsley sprigs and water. The risotto itself was simple as well. It included olive oil, butter, onion, arborio rice, white wine, salt and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Risotto does require full attention while it is cooking. The risotto stock is added one half cup at a time and it must fully cook down before the next half cup of stock is added. Total cooking time after stock preparation is 30 minutes.

So, here's the rub. I have a full blown stomach flu and as I was cooking dinner, Olivia came down with the flu. We girls were definitely not in form to eat dinner last night so Brad is the only one that was able to try the risotto. I took one small taste so I could at least comment on the dish. It was a recipe that I think I would normally like. I have mentioned that I am not a big rice fan but I think risottos are something I could get into. I plan on trying a more complicated version with multiple ingredients in the near future to see if this is the case. Maybe after a lifetime of preferring pasta and potatoes to rice, I will become a rice eater. Verdict to come in at a later date.