BASIL, SAGE, CHEESE AND TOMATOES WITH RICE - HIGH SUMMER RISOTTO
Tuscany
Preparation - Medium/Difficult
Serves 8
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped basil, plus 2 T slivered basil leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 T finely chopped sage
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 cups Arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano rice
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped perfectly ripe, sweet, fresh tomatoes
1 cup hot chicken stock, or more if necessary
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Toscano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
In a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, sweat the onion with the finely chopped basil (the slivered basil will be added later), parsley, and sage in the oil until the vegetables are very soft. Do not let them brown. Mix the rice into the vegetables and add salt and pepper. Stir slowly and when rice starts to turn opaque pour in the wine.As soon as most of the wine has been absorbed by the rice, add about half the tomatoes to the dish, stirring to mix well. Continue to cook the rice, stirring frequently; as the liquid in the tomatoes is absorbed, add hot chicken stock, 1/4 cup at a time. (You may not need all the chicken stock to finish the risotto.) The risotto is cooked when the grains of rice are still separate and slightly resistant to the bite but bathed in a thick sauce.
At this point remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in the cheese, the remaining tomatoes, the slivered basil, and minced garlic. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then serve immediately.
So what I'm really trying to say in the above soliloquy is that when a recipe says "Difficult," they're usually not kidding. But I had two other recipes I thought would be difficult - this one and this one - and they still turned out really well. So while I didn't think this risotto would be a breeze, I certainly didn't think it would be as ornery as it actually turned out. It wasn't a colossal failure like other recipes, but it definitely needs some fine tuning.
It actually started well. I put this recipe into thirds since I was only cooking for myself, so I broke down the measurements and was ready to rock. I have had only one other run in with risotto and I knew the liquid would make or break the dish, so I made sure to have a whole can of chicken stock, plus additional white wine. I felt I had covered all my bases.
What I didn't anticipate was that my risotto had every intention of soaking up every last drop of liquid I had in the house. I used an entire 15 oz can of chicken broth, and at least 1/2 cup of white wine, plus some tap water. I know, blasphemy. But I was desperate. Even after adding in all of that liquid and standing over the risotto constantly stirring for an hour, the grains were still more than "slightly resistant to the bite," and they were not "bathed in a thick sauce." I had more white wine to use, but I didn't want that flavor to overwhelm the dish, so that's when I turned to the tap water (so shameful). I think I eventually could have reached the risotto promised land, but I didn't have the desire to wait it out. I finally added the cheese, tomatoes, basil and garlic and plated it up.
The grains were still dense, but I could get the general taste of the dish. It was pretty rich and I can't imagine eating a whole lot by itself. It would be a great side dish. If I had one more can of chicken stock I think I could have pulled it off, but for some reason I only had that one can. I usually have army rations of the stuff in our pantry, but it just was not meant to be. But again, with some modifications and more liquid, this has a real shot of being something nice.
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