This is another recipe from my hometown cookbook Little Italy Festival Town. It also happens to be the first time I’ve made risotto.
Over my extensive years of dining out I’ve seen all types of risotto. In fact right before I made this I went to Ensenada, Mexico and had this amazing risotto that was cooked in poblano peppers. It was the best risotto I’ve ever had. I still dream about it.
Spoiler alert that this recipe wasn’t the stuff of dreams, but it’s also much simpler. It’s not calling for poblano infusions. Hey we all have to start from somewhere and then branch out to discover the poblanos that give us spice in life. There is no shame in that.
What you’ll need
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1/4 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup uncooked short rice
- 3 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of Marsala wine
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Saffron
- Parmesan Cheese
The first step is to melt the butter in a saucepan. Once melted add the onion and cook until it lightly browns. Add rice next and stir until the rice also lightly browns.
I’m noticing a nice tan pattern here….
Anyway, once browned pour in the chicken broth, wine, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the Saffron. Stir this mixture and then cover the pan and let it simmer for 18 minutes.
Now here is where the instructions are a bit confusing because it asks us to turn off the heat after the 18 minutes and to leave it on the stove covered so it can steam. This must be some hidden rice knowledge I don’t have so I just let it steam for a couple of minutes. I also recommended just checking the instructions on the rice you buy. For example if it says to let it cook for 20 then after the 18 minutes just make up the difference with steaming.
Once steamed, you can serve and do so topped with some parm!
Even though this risotto wasn’t as tasty as that poblano I had in Mexico, it was still quite good. It had a bit of a nutty flavor to it which was the main taste I got out of it. I suspect Saffron would have added more flavor. I didn’t use Saffron when I cooked this because it’s an expensive spice to get. I regret that because I think for this recipe it would have been worth the expense.
As I said before this is a basic risotto recipe and a great learning tool where you could branch out with different flavors and etc.
That being said I look forward to the next risotto recipe in this cookbook because it’s author is a bit of a living legend I heard about growing up. I will hopefully honor and celebrate this woman when I cook and write about her recipe. Til then enjoy this starter risotto and I’ll write to you next time!
thehermitfool 