Kelly the Culinarian: Cooking with Kelly: Red wine risotto

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Cooking with Kelly: Red wine risotto

My vacation is definitely over. Not only is it back to work and no napping, I now have to cook again. Sigh. I really enjoyed when the meals just came to me with no dishes.

Another unfortunate aspect about not being in the Bahamas is the small detail that it's absolutely freezing out there. No joke, I was so cold at one point this week I could have cried, but the tears would have froze to my face.

So I'm into hardier meals these days. While I've never tried risotto, when I watched a Food Network program featuring the elegant rice, I had to give it a try. I created my own take on this red wine risotto and it was pretty tasty, but to make it a whole meal, I should have stirred in some rotisserie chicken pieces at the end.


Here's how it goes:


3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 large garlic cloves finely diced

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup red wine

1/3 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

Pepper and salt


Now, it's pretty easy, just time consuming. First, warm up the broth in a separate pan and keep at a simmer. Warm the oil and throw in the onion and let it cook until softened, about three minutes. Then add the garlic and do the same for about a minute. Next, toast the rice in the oil for about five minutes before before adding the wine. Allow it to absorb, stirring constantly, before adding the broth 3/4 of a cup at a time. Stir and let it almost absorb before adding the next portion until you're all the way through the broth. In the last portion of broth, throw in the peas and when the broth is almost absorbed, add the Parmesan and cream to finish it off as well as salt and pepper to taste (I used kosher salt and freshly ground pepper royale, but that's up to you).

This makes four large portions of delicious, stick-to-you-ribs risotto. It's so nice on a blustery winter day. And since that arborio rice was so expensive ($5 for one little can!), I'll certainly be experimenting with it again.

1 comment:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

The red wine risotto is a new twist for me Kelly that I would like to try. It sounds like you had a very relaxing and fun filled vacation...wish I were there :D