Om Nom Nom: Sundried Tomato Risotto

Jul 5, 2011

If you haven’t guessed, I’m Italian. I was once told I’m so Italian, I would bleed spaghetti. This is probably true. We have an entire cabinet just for pasta. Now, part of being a good Italian is knowing how to cook. I am so lucky to have Chef Lou as a teacher. My mom is a wonderful cook, but she hates it and quite frankly has too much else to do than to bother with making dinner. My dad on the other hand loves cooking and passes his culinary wisdom to me. #win

I have a problem with looking at food blogs late at night and then I get really hungry and wake up starving. It’s a vicious cycle. I happen to be obsessed with Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. I own her cookbook. I’m always on her blog. I love her. And I especially love her for giving me this recipe for Sundried Tomato Risotto. I changed some things, though like a shallot instead of an onion. And I don’t really like measurements. I think it’s an Italian thing because my dad and I rarely measure things out. We just kind of work until it tastes right. Like food whisperers. (But you will measure the chicken broth. Or else.)

Here’s a fun fact: I hate tomatoes. I love ketchup, marinara sauce, bruschetta, and sundrieds but if you try to put tomatoes on my sandwich or give me a raw one, I’ll freak out.

Moving on…

You need: Arborio rice, chicken broth, sundried tomatoes, a shallot, butter, grated Parmesan (fresh is better, but I was out), heavy whipping cream, minced garlic, and a white wine of your choice

A note about wine: in a pinch I’ve used red. It will turn your risotto purple, which is kind of cool.

Dice your shallot and throw it in your pan with a chunk of butter. Then add a nice spoonful of minced garlic.

I used a little under 2 cups (for you measurers) of Arborio rice. You want all the grains to get this little eye before you add liquid to it, this is really important. Risotto takes time, it’s not a quick meal.

See the white dot? The eye!

Ok now for wine. To drink and add.

I was generous. Ree’s recipe calls for tomatoes first, but given my tomato aversion I add wine first to counteract the tomato-y taste of the tomatoes. Got it?

Stir in your sundrieds. You’ll notice that I also just chopped them up versus pureeing them. Give it a good stir.

Now add your chicken broth one cup at a time and stir until absorbed. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. You will not let your risotto boil, and you will stir until it’s done! I was so busy stirring, I didn’t get good pictures of the continuous adding of broth. But I used the whole box of broth, if that gives you an indication.

We didn’t have any grated Parmesan, shocking I know. I settled for this powdered kind (gourmet don’t worry), which works just as well and even melts a lot faster.