I'm pretty sure my parents used to make it all the time when I was younger and I'd sort of turn up my nose at it. I'm not sure what on earth I was thinking! It has to be one of my favourite foods now. Risotto is traditionally Italian, and thats the way I like it, but you can still add so many different flavours and ingredients! I always put onions, mushrooms and garlic in it to start. I switch up other ingredients like bell peppers (of any colour), asparagus, zucchini, or whatever else you're feeling! You can also change up the type of spice you use (thyme, basil and rosemary being my go to's) or the type of cheese you use (goat's cheese, feta, parmesan being my faves). Sometimes I like to add either chicken or sausage to it too.
Here's what I did for tonights risotto: Fry up chopped onions and mushrooms in butter and a little bit of olive oil. After they've started to brown add in chopped orange peppers and garlic. Let those fry for a bit. Put 1/2 cup of risotto in the pan and stir with the vegetables for about 1 minute. Pour in white wine... enough to just cover the contents of the pan (I never measure the wine). Stir and let the risotto absorb the wine a little. When there is less liquid in the pan add chicken stock, again enough to cover what is in the pan. Stir it occasionally and let the risotto absorb it. You repeat this process with chicken stock until the risotto is the right... tenderness? I'm not sure thats the word I want to use... but lets just stick with that. For 1/2 cup of risotto, you use about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock. At some point during that process, toss in a spice. I used thyme and fresh basil. The kicker for tonights dinner was the addition of gruyere cheese and parmesan (1/2 cup combined). I had the littlest bit of gruyere cheese leftover so I thought I should use it and then I thought why the heck not, let me just add some parm too! It made the risotto so cheesy/creamy and gave it the most delicious taste!
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