Risotto requires virtue - or at least patience

I bought a new kitchen gadget at Crate and Barrel a couple weeks ago - a microplane zester. So to make good use of it, I looked for a recipe that would make use of it. I found an Alton Brown recipe for mushroom and asparagus risotto on the Food Network Web site. The zester would come in handy for the freshly grated parmesan cheese as well as freshly grated lemon zest that the recipe required.

Most of the recipe seemed simple enough. But the only thing that worried me a bit is that the recipe calls for arborio rice, cooked slowly over low heat. I don't have a good track record when it comes to cooking rice dishes. I always try to make the Spanish rice my grandma used to make, but I've only gotten it right once. Most of the time some of the rice turns out mushy and other bits remain crispy. So unless the rice is instant rice or a box of Rice-a-Roni, I don't do well.

But I read over Alton's recipe carefully - several times - and I thought I could manage it if I followed it carefully line by line.

Apparently the key to making a creamy risotto is slowly adding in liquid, allowing the rice to absorb it, and then adding more liquid. The recipe said it would take about 35 to 40 minutes to cook. So after stirring the rice almost continuously for that long, I took a little taste - and the rice was still crunchy. I had a lot of liquid left still so I added more to the pan and continued stirring. Another 15 minutes and the rice was still crunchy. Nearly an hour and a half later, when I was about ready to give up, the rice suddenly turned soft. It was almost an instantaneous change.

The risotto was amazingly tasty and well worth the wait. But it won't be a recipe that makes it into the weekly rotation - it will be reserved for once in a while.

Photo by Melissa Flores


Mushroom and asparagus risotto takes a lot of stirring and time to make right.