It’s been a while since I made my first risotto. I think I learned it from Arguiñano, back when my mom and I used to watch him at lunchtime. I have a feeling I also followed the recipe from some Wii video game once. Anyway, I’ve been tweaking, adapting and improvising on top of the fundamental rule for a good risotto: never stop stirring.

Pics and Cakes

What do we need?

(serves two)

  •   1 ½ cups short-grain rice

  •   Warm water

  •   2 cloves of garlic

  •   A quarter of a large onion

  •   Wild mushrooms / button mushrooms

  •   100 g (3.5 oz) blue cheese

  •   Salt

How do we make it?

  • Add a splash of olive oil to a saucepan.

  • Dice the blue cheese into small cubes. Finely chop the garlic and onion.

  • Add the garlic and onion to the pan and turn the heat down a bit so they don’t burn. Once they’ve softened a little, add the mushrooms cut into medium-sized pieces.

  • Let everything cook together for a few minutes and add a pinch of salt.

  • Once the sofrito is ready, add the rice and stir well so the rice soaks up the flavor.

  • Now, the usual thing would be to add twice as much water as rice and let it cook. We’re going to add just a bit of water — about half a cup (120 ml / 4 fl oz) if we used a cup and a half of rice.

  • While stirring, add salt and a bit of blue cheese. Once everything is well mixed and the water has reduced, lower the heat a little.

  • Without stopping stirring, keep adding more water (as much as your risotto asks for) and blue cheese.

  • When you see the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, cover, and let it rest for as long as it takes you to slice some thin strips of blue cheese to decorate the plate.

Tips:

  • We used blue cheese, but you can use any other kind. If you don’t like strong cheese, an aged cheese will thicken it more and barely taste of cheese.
  • For decoration you can also add hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds.
  • If you don’t have wild mushrooms, you can swap them for button mushrooms.

Pics and Cakes

[English version] RISOTTO MY WAY **Ingredients:- 1 ½ medium-grain rice

  • 3 cups warm water

  • 2 cloves of onion

  • ¼ large onion

  • Mushrooms

  • 100 g blue cheese

  • Salt

  • Add a splash of olive oil in a sauce pan.

  • Dice blue cheese and chop garlic and onion.

  • Add garlic and onion to the sauce pan and fry slowly to avoid burning. When they have softened, add the mushrooms (if they are too big, you can cut them into medium-size pieces).

  • Cook slowly for some minutes and add a pinch of salt.

  • When ready, add the rice and keep stirring while everything is cooking and flavors are melting.

  • Usually we add 2 parts of water to 1 part of rice. For risotto recipe we will be adding all the water needed progressively.

  • While stirring, add some salt and part of blue cheese. Stir well and turn down the heat to a simmer.

  • Keep stirring and adding the water and blue cheese, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next.

  • When rice is cooked and soft, place a lid on the pan and allow to sit. Slice some blue cheese for decoration.

    Tips:- You can use any kind of cheese. Blue cheese has quite a strong flavour but you can substitute it by any other softer.

  • For decoration, you can add some walnuts, almonds or nuts.

  • You can use mushrooms (champignons) or any other wild mushrooms.

Comentarios

La Enana (2012-07-23 13:28:26):

I love risotto but I’ve never tried it with blue cheese… what a great idea and it looks delicious!

Marisa (2012-07-28 22:31:24):

Exquisite dish.