Creamy Vegetable Risotto

 I recommend this dish to accompany your Father's Day, BBQ Teriaki Chicken.  A Vegetable Risotto, made according to Mark Bittman's NY Times recipe.  He and Mario made it with asparagus.  Though, as you might guess, I used what lovely CSA veggies I had available, in this case, squash along with some mushrooms from the market. There is an amazing variety of ingredients a risotto can be made with.  But, and this is important, the basic directions are impeccable. You can also make it without stock, as per Bittman's recipe, using slow cooked onions, dried porcini mushrooms, and water.

And, apparently all along, I've been stirring way more than I needed to.  Thanks Mario and Mark for bringing this to my attention.

Creamy Vegetable Risotto

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, minced
1 Cup Arborio rice (I used 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup wild rice)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teas. salt
2 cups stock or garlic water
1 - 2 cups fresh vegetables of choice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4-1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

First thing is to heat your pan (I used my Le Creuset) and add the olive oil and butter, melt that and then stir in the onion and let them get a bit soft. Then add the rice in. If you use a normal weight pan, you can do more of shaking than stirring, as per James Bond, errr Mario, and let that get sort of translucent. This step helps the rice absorb liquid more slowly without becoming mushy.

Next pour in the wine, enough to barely cover the rice, and a bit of salt. Let it absorb a bit, then add some broth, absorb, simmer, broth, etc. etc., about a 1/2 cup at a time.  When the rice is still a bit al dente, stir in the vegetables, and let them simmer along with the rice.  Judge when to add the veggies according to how long they will need to cook. They like their rice with a bit of bite, but I like it softer.  Up to you.  Mario also likes his risotto sort of soupy, but you can tell that Bittman (and me) prefer it with more cohesiveness. Look at the expression on his face when Mario dishes it out.

Finally, off the heat, stir in a tablespoon or so of butter and the Parmigiano.  You can sprinkle some shredded basil or parsley on top if yours needs more color.  Theirs was a lovely green from the asparagus puree added at the end. I absolutely love risotto.  It has such a comforting, umaminess.  I may have coined a word there.

Check out all the delicious goodies at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we're stirring up things for Father's Day, which for me is doubly important, as Bob's birthday falls on the same day this year. My grandson is going to be doing the BBQ honors.