Melissa's Cooking!

Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. Having had it a couple of times, once at our favorite local relatives, Jay & Kellie, (who love Italian cuisine) and then the other time, my husband and I had from a box bought at the store…I decided to find a recipe and make it from scratch myself.

This particular recipe I had found in my cookbook called One-Dish Vegetarian Meals. It takes a while to make, esp. given the vegetables that need chopped accordingly beforehand, and then as the rice is cooking, you need to be at the stove stirring pretty much constantly. But be patient! The end result is definitely worth it

Oh, and as a side to the Risotto, I decided to healthy boil up some flat-leaf spinach as well, which you can find out how to do that within my Yummy Veggie Wrap blog here.

Risotto Primavera ingredients include:
• 4 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
(says it serves 4, but it could be more or less depending on how much you eat, obviously)

In a medium-size saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and keep it at a simmer.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the bell pepper, carrots, zucchini and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the rice, and stir to coat with oil. Add the wine and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until it has been absorbed.

Add 1/2 cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer. Continue cooking, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender but still firm and the risotto is thick and creamy. This should take about 25 minutes (and you may not even need all of the stock.) Add salt and pepper, then add the parsley and lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

Tags: arborio rice, Carrots, Garlic, Lemon juice, parsley, pepper, red bell pepper, risotto primavera, salt, spinach, Vegetables, white wine, zucchini

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