Random Recipes: Baked Risotto

Here's the deal, I'm not the world's greatest cook (nor do I pretend to be), but I do enjoy cooking. And I enjoy sharing the recipes that work out. Lately though, I never have them on hand to share with someone at work when I want to, so I'm going to post them here. Now all I need is access to the internet.

The recipe below was adapted from the Baked Rissoto recipe from Williams-Sonoma. You can find the original here.

Baked Risotto

Serves 4 to 6| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 50m

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 4 ½ cups chicken broth (warmed – but only if you have time)
• ½ - 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 3 Tbs. cold salted butter, cut into 6 pieces  

Possible Vegetable Combinations

• 1 – 2 cups mushrooms
• 2 cups tomatoes diced (recommend a mix of yellow and red for color and flavor)

Or

• 1 ½ lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• 2 leeks, white and light green portions halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

Or

• Diced up pre-roasted Squash (this is the newest version of this, so you kind of have to wing it if you want to go the Squash route. I would suggest using delicata squash you've cut into rounds and roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Choose which vegetable combo you are going to enjoy:
1. If leeks and asparagus: In 3 ½ qt. wide Dutch oven over medium heat warm 2 Tbs. oil. Add leeks (and onion); cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 8 minutes.) Add garlic, thyme and salt; cook 1 minute.
2. If mushrooms and tomatoes: In 3 ½ qt. wide Dutch oven over medium heat warm 2 Tbs. oil. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 8 minutes.) Add garlic and salt; cook 1 minute. Add rice; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add rice; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.
4. Add wine; cook 1 minute.
5. Stir in 3 cups broth, increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer.
6. Cover; bake, stirring once halfway through, until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 25-30 minutes. (You may want to add an additional 1 ½ cups of broth halfway through.)
7. Meanwhile:
1. If you chose asparagus: In a skillet coat asparagus with 1 tbs. oil; season with salt and pepper. Preheat pan over medium-high heat. Cook asparagus in batches, turning occasionally, until tender, 7-8 minutes per batch. Cut on bias into 2” lengths. Add to risotto with the 3 Tbs. of unsalted butter when you remove it from the oven.
2. If you choose mushrooms and tomatoes: sauté tomatoes until soft in preheated grill pan (medium to medium-high) with 1 to 2 Tbs. butter (or you can substitute olive oil). Add to risotto at baking halfway point. Sauté mushrooms until browned slightly in preheated grill pan (medium to medium-high) with 1 to 2 Tbs. butter (or you can substitute olive oil). Add to risotto at baking halfway point.
8. Remove risotto from the oven and stir in cheese, salt and pepper.
9. Serve.