Friday Food for Thought—Vegetable Risotto

I love risotto because, depending on the serving size, it can either be a one-pot meal or a delicious side dish. This month I’m serving up four of my risotto recipes, starting with one of my favorites.

Vegetable Risotto

1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
3-3/4 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1/2 cup water with 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup corn kernels, cooked
1/2 cup Asiago cheese, grated

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Gently saute the onion, garlic, red pepper and zucchini until soft. Season with salt and the basil. Add the rice and stir for about 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups of hot stock (reserve 3/4 cup of stock for later) and white wine. Bring to a boil, give it a good stir, cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir the rice and then cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add the remaining 3/4 stock, the green onions, corn and Asiago cheese. Stir until everything is heated and the cheese has melted.

Variation: to make this a little more elegant, add steamed asparagus spears along with the corn and green onions. Okay, so I happen to think asparagus is elegant!

Optional: garnish with sprigs of fresh basil.

This recipe makes four entree-sized servings or eight side servings.

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Lee

PS: for more of my risotto recipes, check back every Friday this month.