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Desperation Dinners - Creamy Delight: Risotto doesn't have to be difficult

By Beverly Mills (with Alicia Ross)

UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Published: March 25, 2009

Updated: 03/24/2009 08:05 pm

People are passionate about risotto, but most of us experience it only in restaurants because it seems too difficult and time-consuming to make at home. Actually, there are two distinctly different but equally wonderful ways to take the fuss out of this Italian specialty rice: the microwave and the slow cooker.

Dubious? You will just have to trust us on this, and be prepared to add a couple of very delicious tricks to your desperate repertoire.

Today's column explores the relatively new slow-cooker method with Slow-Cooker Risotto with Gourmet Mushrooms.

The problem with traditional risotto is that you have to stand over the stove, constantly stirring the rice and adding dribbles of boiling stock for a half-hour until the grains release enough starch to achieve the sublime creamy texture that turns rice lovers into risotto fiends.

With the slow cooker, all you have to do is cook some onion, give the rice a quick saute in the same skillet, dump everything into the pot and leave the room for a couple of hours. We couldn't resist adding a mixed-mushroom topper, but this extra step could be eliminated and the risotto would still be great.

We finish this risotto with half-and-half, or use cream if you want to go all out; add Parmesan as an optional garnish. The result is restaurant-rich, creamy risotto that you would be proud to serve the fussiest guests.

Slow-Cooker Risotto With Gourmet Mushrooms

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup dry white wine, such as chardonnay, divided use

1¼ cups Arborio rice

3¾ cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces mixed gourmet mushrooms, sliced (see Note)

3 tablespoons half-and-half

Salt and pepper, to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional garnish

1. If you have a medium to large round slow cooker, cook the rice for 2 to 2½ hours, until tender and still moist but not soupy. If you have large oval one, cook the rice for 1¾ to 2 hours, until tender and moist but not soupy.

2. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until just soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add ¼ cup wine and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add rice, and stir and cook until it begins to turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Scrape rice and onion mixture into slow cooker. Set skillet aside and do not wash. Turn slow cooker to high, and add broth. Cover and cook on high until tender and moist but not soupy, about 1¾ hours to 2½ hours.

3. Meanwhile, using the same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil and butter together over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their liquid, about 4 minutes. Add remaining ¼ cup of wine, and stir and cook another minute or two to allow some of the wine to evaporate. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before placing the mushrooms in a microwave-safe bowl; cover and refrigerate. Just before rice is done, remove mushrooms from refrigerator and microwave, uncovered on high, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

4. Uncover the risotto, and stir in the half-and-half and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, topped with the heated mushrooms and Parmesan, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: For testing purposes, we used two 4-ounce packages of mixed sliced gourmet mushrooms containing baby bells, shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Any combination of hearty mushrooms will work.

Nutrition information for one serving: 305 calories (41 percent from fat), 14 g fat (4 g saturated), 13 mg cholesterol, 7 g protein, 36 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, 382 mg sodium.

■ Send us desperate tales of woe or everyday success stories and your favorite quick recipes to Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016; or e-mail bev-alicia@desperationdinners.com.