Risotto Inventive Preparations Turn Italian Starter Into A Meal

Risotto. Even the word sounds voluptuous as it rolls off the tongue.

If cheese is milk’s leap to immortality, then risotto surely is rice’s descent into sin. It tastes so rich and silken and creamy that it almost seems naughty eating it.

For those who have not tried the Northern Italian rice dish, it is an amalgam of short-grain rice swollen with broth and usually bound with butter and Parmesan cheese.

In Italy, risotto is served, like pasta, as a first course before the meat or fish entree. But just as Americans have made pasta a main course, they have moved risotto from the wings to center stage.

Chic restaurants are adding all kinds of ingredients to risotto and offering it as a hearty entree. Even non-Italian restaurants are getting into the act, throwing decidedly nonItalian ingredients into the pot.

These inventions illustrate what noted Italian cooking teacher Marcella Hazan meant when she wrote: “There are so many things you can do with risotto that it is almost a cuisine all by itself.”

But while the add-ins may vary, the rice doesn’t. Plump, short-grain arborio is the rice of choice for risotto. It is increasingly available in supermarkets, where it sometimes is labeled “risotto rice.”

Arborio rice is especially suitable because it plumps up and becomes creamy when liquid is absorbed. Because the liquid must be added slowly to the rice, traditional risotto is not a quick fix.

The liquid - chicken broth, fish stock, water or even wine - is added a little at a time. The mixture is stirred over heat, uncovered, until the liquid is absorbed, then more liquid is added. The process is repeated until the grains are swollen and bound together in a creamy mass.

For centuries, it took half an hour of constant attention to make a proper risotto. Then heretics discovered the microwave. Nuked risotto isn’t quite as creamy as the real thing, but it’s close. And it’s a whole lot quicker and easier to make.

For the microwave version, arborio rice is combined with all of the liquid and seasonings and cooked on high power until the liquid is absorbed. On a rushed weeknight, the slight difference in texture and flavor is made bearable by the convenience.

Although risotto tastes a lot richer than it actually is (it doesn’t contain that much butter and cheese), it can be made in a low-fat version.

Following are a slimmed-down herb risotto from “High-Flavor Low-Fat Cooking” by Steven Raichlen; a risotto with Parmesan cheese from the “Classic Italian Cookbook” by Marcella Hazan; a basic microwave risotto from Barbara Kafka’s “Microwave Gourmet”; and a microwave risotto studded with chicken and vegetables.

Use Hazan’s recipe as a basis for your own inventions, adding vegetables, meats and herbs at will (asparagus is one particularly tasty touch).

A final note: Don’t even think of making risotto with margarine and Parmesan cheese from a shaker can. Use real butter and Parmesan cheese that you’ve grated yourself or that is sold as fresh-grated in the dairy case (and, if you have the time, homemade chicken broth). Your taste buds will thank you.

Herb Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

5 to 6 cups chicken broth, heated to simmering

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, chives and parsley

1/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Salt, fresh-ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Stir in rice and cook 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring until most of the wine is absorbed.

Add 1/2 cup broth and cook, stirring, at a gentle simmer. When most of the liquid is absorbed, add another half-cup of broth. Continue until 5 cups are used up. If rice is still hard, add 1/2 to 1 cup more broth. Add herbs during last 3 minutes of cooking. The process should take 18 to 20 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Risotto with Parmesan Cheese

1 cup canned chicken broth mixed with 4 cups water

2 tablespoons minced shallot or yellow onion

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 heaping cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Salt, if desired

Bring the broth to a slow, steady simmer. In a heavy saucepan, saute shallots or onion in 2 tablespoons of the butter and all of the oil over medium-high heat until translucent.

Add rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring to coat rice. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth. Cook and stir until the rice absorbs the liquid and wipes the sides of the pot as you stir. When the rice dries out, add another half-cup of the broth and continue to cook and stir. Do not allow rice to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Regulate the heat - neither too high nor too low - so that the rice will cook in about 30 minutes. If it cooks too slowly, the rice becomes gluey. If it cooks too fast, the rice will be chalky.

When the rice is about 5 minutes from being done, add the Parmesan and remaining tablespoon of butter. Mix well and season with salt, if necessary. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 first-course servings, or 2 entree servings.

Basic Microwave Risotto

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup (about 1/4 pound) minced yellow onion

1 cup arborio rice

3 cups chicken broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat butter and oil in a 10-inch quiche pan, deep pie dish or an 11- by 8-1/2- by 2-inch dish, uncovered, at 100 percent power for 2 minutes. Add the onion and stir to coat. Cook, uncovered, at 100 percent for 4 minutes.

Add rice and stir to coat. Cook, uncovered, for 4 minutes more. (If using a small or less powerful oven, cook onion for 7 minutes; add rice and cook for 7 minutes more.)

Stir in broth. Cook, uncovered, at 100 percent for 9 minutes. Stir well and cook for 9 minutes more. (If using a small or less powerful oven, cook for 12 minutes, stir and cook for 12 minutes more.)

Remove from oven. Let stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes to let rice absorb remaining liquid, stirring several times. Stir in salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 6 side-dish servings, or 3 entree servings.

Microwave Risotto with Vegetables and Chicken

2 boneless chicken breast halves

2 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons butter

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup diced red and green bell peppers

3/4 cup diced zucchini

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

1 carrot, scrubbed and shredded

1 cup arborio rice

Dry white wine

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/3 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Salt, pepper

Place the chicken in a saucepan with the broth. Cover and simmer very slowly (water should barely bubble) for 7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in center. Remove chicken from broth and set aside.

Place butter in a 4-quart casserole or microwave-safe bowl. Add onion and garlic, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power for about 3 minutes, until glassy. Add peppers, zucchini, tomato and carrot and stir well. Cover tightly and microwave on high power for 3 minutes, or until vegetables are tender-crisp.

Stir in rice, coating grains. Measure broth from poaching the chicken; add enough white wine to equal 2 cups. Add to rice mixture. Cover tightly and microwave on high power for 5 to 7 minutes, until boiling.

Stir, re-cover and microwave on medium power 9 to 10 minutes, until almost all liquid is absorbed. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, cheese, salt and pepper.

Yield: 2 servings.