Risotto with Red Wine and Peas

I adore risotto.  I first watched Giada de Laurentiis make it on Every Day Italian and loved how malleable it is.  Like pasta, it is one of those dishes that is easily manipulated and once you have the base set, it will take on a variety of flavors, whatever your palate is craving that particular night.  As you slowly combine arborio rice and stock, a creamy rich texture develops, leaving you with a hearty yet delicate meal that can stand on it’s own or act as a perfect accompaniment to almost any dinner.  On this night we popped open a bottle of Spanish wine and settled in for a relaxing Friday night.  Munching on asiago cheese and sipping my wine, I put my chicken in the oven to roast and set out on the leisurely task of stirring my risotto, watching the grains slowly but surely absorb the chicken stock.  The peas lend a beautiful color and pop of texture to the dish and with a final flourish of parmesan cheese dinner is ready.  The perfect comfort food for a Friday night dedicated to winding down as the stresses of the week drift into the distance.  I am now ready for the weekend!

A simple group of pantry standards make up the cast for risotto.  Gather the following: two shallots, diced, two cloves of garlic, minced, four cups of unsalted chicken stock, one cup of arborio rice, one half cup dry red wine, one cup freshly grated parmesan, one cup frozen peas, four tbs unsalted butter, two tbs olive oil and kosher salt and black pepper.

Begin by setting the chicken stock in a small pot over low heat.  You want it to be warm but not boiling.  While that begins to heat, prepare your shallots and garlic.  If you don’t have shallots handy onions will work perfectly.  Just make sure to dice them finely.  Be careful – they are small and a bit harder to work with than larger onions.  But aren’t they cute?

Melt two tbs of butter and two tbs of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and saute until translucent, about three minutes.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, for one minute more.

Time for the rice!  Arborio rice looks like orzo pasta – short and fat little grains chock full of starch ready to be released and replaced by the chicken stock.  You will need one cup full.

Add to the pan and toast over medium heat for three minutes.

Now, this will be tough, but pour a half cup of your red wine into the pan.  I know – it’s very hard to pour good wine into anything but the glass you are drinking out of – but trust me, this is for a very worthy cause.  Stir the rice and watch as it begins to absorb the wine.  After two-three minutes the wine should be absorbed and the rice a pretty purple hue.

Now for the stock.  If you are vegetarian, vegetable stock is a wonderful substitute.  Add one and a half ladle-fulls to the pan and turn the heat to medium low (level four if your burner has a scale of one – ten).  If you don’t have a ladle use a measuring cup and add a little over one cup per addition.  Stirring often, allow the rice to mix with the stock and soften, simmering slowly.

Once the majority of the liquid has been absorbed and the mixture looks like the picture below (it generally takes about six minutes), add more stock.

You will continue this process until nearly all of the stock is absorbed and the rice is slightly puffed and softened while still maintaining a slight bite.

As you are adding the stock, make sure to season with salt and pepper.  Remember, the stock was unsalted, so you will need a fair amount of salt and pepper to bring out the flavors.  Start with one tsp kosher salt and several turns of fresh ground black pepper.  Adjust the finished product to your taste.

Peas!  Now that the risotto is ready, turn the heat to the lowest setting, and add the frozen peas directly to the pan.  They will warm through quickly and there is no need to defrost them.

It would be a shame to come all this way and not add more butter.  I mean really.  And it actually serves the important purpose of bringing the sauce and risotto together, finishing off the creamy texture.  The last step is to stir in the parsley and parmesan.  Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.

We enjoyed this risotto with my favorite roast chicken, (minus the vegetables) and talked about nothing in particular.  I needed this sort of night.  Risotto will forever be a favorite comfort food.  I hope you find happiness in it as well!

Continue reading for the ingredient list and step-by-step directions!

Serves Four

• two shallots, diced
• two cloves of garlic, minced
• four cups of unsalted chicken stock
• one cup of arborio rice
• one half cup dry red wine
• one cup freshly grated parmesan
• one cup frozen peas
• four tbs unsalted butter, divided
• two tbs olive oil
• one tsp kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper