Every time I make risotto, and I mean EVERY time, we sit down to eat, and we all agree that I am a GENIUS! Risotto is one of those things that is easy to make, (although you have to stand over it and stir,) that yields deliciousness FAR out of proportion with your effort.
This risotto arose from a need to make dinner and a woeful lack of planning. I looked in the fridge, and began to dig out everything that needed to be eaten. Leftover Christmas ham, check. Veggies for salad, check. A quick look in the freezer–a bag of artichoke hearts–huzzah! A peek in the pantry cupboard shows a box of Arborio rice–aha! a plan emerges! So here’s the method–your mileage may vary–if you have different things in your fridge, you can use those. Risotto is not one of those things that HAS to be by the book.
Risotto with ham and artichoke hearts:
I started with half of a large onion, chopped fine. In a large skillet, I splashed about 2 TBSP of olive oil, and sautéed the onion until it was translucent. Then I added about 1 1/2 cups of uncooked Arborio rice, and continued to stir. (Well, actually, my friend Nicole continued to stir, while I buzzed around chopping and planning.) After about 5 minutes, I added half a bottle of leftover beer–you could use white wine, or skip this step. I turned down the burner to medium-low, and Nicole kept stirring.
When that liquid was absorbed, I started to add a splosh at a time of chicken stock. (Add a splosh, keep stirring until it’s absorbed, add another splosh, etc.) I also threw in the last bit of Christmas ham, chopped into bite-sized chunks.
In the meantime, I chopped up a tomato that was sitting in my crisper that needed to be used–you can skip this, or you can add a TBSP or so of tomato paste if you want the added flavor. I added the tomato when the rice was about half-cooked.
After another 5 minutes or so, I added some chopped up frozen artichoke hearts (I found a bag of these in the freezer section at the grocery store–what a GREAT staple to have on hand!) Nicole kept stirring (and remember, I kept adding a bit of chicken stock every few minutes.)
When the rice was tender and all the chicken stock was absorbed (I’m guessing I added a total of about 5 cups) I turned off the heat, and added 1 cup of shredded Romano cheese, and stirred it in until it was melted. I served it immediately with a loaf of fantastic homemade sourdough bread, and a salad.
Mmm, yumm! Risotto is comfort food and splashy-effect company food all at the same time! Enjoy!
Laura
