Record Lows - Risotto

People in the Bay Area are feeling gypped right now. It's the end of July, practically August, and yet, the weather has been stubbornly hovering between a frosty 50-65 for the past couple weeks and the fog is constant. "Record lows," are the words falling out of every meteorologist's mouth.

It's a strange state of affairs when you're looking forward to leaving freezing California for warm and sunny Oregon.

Even the tomatoes seem to have gone on strike due to the weather. The good ones are nowhere to be found. Stonefruit is here, but the weather calls for something you can curl up with, warm and comforting.

Risotto helps. But the only way I'll be ok with this weather is if the sun and high temperatures return soon and extend into November or so. And there's another reason for making it, an Arancini (fried risotto balls) recipe courtesy of Leah that's perfect for the leftovers. Stay tuned for that...and hopefully some decidedly more summery recipes.




Basic Risotto

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups white wine
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups aborio rice
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
*note: you can also substitute a bit of water in the broth/wine mixture if you'd like

Bring the broth and wine to a simmer in a saucepan on a back burner. Keep broth warm over low heat while you're cooking the rice.

Heat the butter & olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains evenly, continue to cook for about a couple minutes more to toast the rice and then add about 1 cup of the hot broth. Simmer over medium to medium-low and stir often until the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes or so. Continue to add about a cup of broth, stirring and letting it absorb until the rice is creamy and tender. The whole process should take less than half-an-hour, and you should have used 6-8 cups of the broth. Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve hot, right away.