Parmesan Risotto

Word on the street is that it's only risotto if you stir it non-stop for two hours.

I'm ok if this is considered false, air quote only "risotto." Especially for my first time

 

Risotto is so mysterious that the article on wikipedia needs additional citations for verification.

Are you ready for this?

A sunny day for a dish of risotto

 

Word of advice - go to a store that sells grains in bulk, like Whole Foods or Sprouts. Then you can buy just the amount of Arborio rice that you need instead of the singular over-priced package you might find at your standard grocery store.   King Soopers, I still love you...just not for fancy rice.   

 

And if you're buying fancy rice, you might as well by fancy Parm....not the kind in the plastic shaker. I bought some Argentinian Parm. It was delicious.

What You Need

1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice

5 cups of warm chicken stock, make your own or buy some (I opted for buying it)

1 cup freshly grated Parm (from Argentina....or Italy)

1/2 cup white wine

3 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

What You Do

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put the rice, and 4 cups of the broth in a 9x9 baking pan / casserole dish. Cover. Bake for 45 minutes. When you pull it out of the oven it should look nice and fluffy and the broth should pretty much be absorbed.

Remove from the oven and add the wine, remaining 1 cup broth, cheese, butter and salt/pepper. Stir, with enthusiasm, for 2-3 minutes until creamy.

 

Serve as a side of awesome to anything else you might be making.