Risotto Obsession

I will admit it, I’m obsessed with risotto. I can’t exactly explain why, but I am. Maybe it’s my grown-up comfort food, replacing mac and cheese as the thing I crave when I most need to fall into the joy of flavor and turn my back on the world. Or maybe, it just tastes so good I can’t get enough. It doesn’t really matter. I just know I’m obsessed with risotto.

I’m on a mission – to make and eat as many kinds of risotto as I can. I’m currently crafting the perfect parmesan risotto (in my opinion which is all that matters right now). I have the basic recipe down but am toying with little things like the oh-so-difficult choice between shallots and onions as a key aromatic, and understanding the nuances a sauvignon blanc brings as opposed to a chardonnay. Next week I’ll post the recipe, along with my first foray into food photography. Tomorrow night I’m experimenting with Red Wine Risotto with Chorizo – anything that brings creamy risotto, spicy chorizo, and manchego cheese together just seems to be a good thing.

A couple of other interesting risotto recipes I’ve come across are:

  • Lemon Risotto – Nigella Lawson
    This recipe taught me how to use cream and an egg yolk to take the risotto to the next creamy level. Beware, don’t try this recipe if you don’t really like lemon.
  • Latin Risotto –  M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger
    Given my easy access to Hatch chiles, I was immediately tempted to try this recipe. It’s a nice alternative to ye ol’ spanish rice when you’re serving any kind of Mexican or Southwestern inspired food.

And a couple I haven’t tried yet but am anxious to are:

  • Truffled Red Wine Risotto with Parmesan Broth – Bon Appetite
    Just the idea of the parmesan broth is divine, and the truffle oil seems like an exquisit finish.
  • Dirty Risotto – Giada De Laurentiis
    I’m really interested in this variation on the theme of dirty rice. Some small part of me worries that all of the “dirt” will somehow not fit well with the creamy nature of risotto, but there’s only one way to find out.

Monday night is risotto night in my house. Funny enough, my family isn’t as obsessed with risotto as I am, so I make it just for me and then think of really interesting things to do with the leftovers later in the week.

To make a long story short – this may be my first entry on risotto, but it most certainly won’t be my last. Also in the works – a video on how to cook the perfect risotto.