Recipe: Lightened Up Boscaiola Risotto

Risotto is always something I liked to eat but never cooked myself. Why? Because everyone over-complicates risotto and I thought it was an impossible task that I certainly couldn't achieve.

You see, whilst I'll happily make an elaborate cake, when it comes to dinner I like to keep things simple.

It wasn't until earlier this year that I started experimenting with risotto recipes. The first happened one night when Jesse was working away from home. I was incredibly bored and it was 4pm and I had no idea what to do with myself so I decided to start cooking dinner - only it was too early to cook dinner so I needed to make something complicated and time consuming. 

So I decided to try out a risotto - only to find myself with a delicious risotto finished before 5pm. Hold up a minute? I thought risotto was supposed to be complicated?

Apparently not - and risotto became a regular feature on our dinner table. For the last couple of months I've been testing and tweaking and fine tuning my risotto recipe so that I could share the ultimate Healthier Risotto Recipe. That is, a healthy risotto that's lightened up, gluten free and so simple to make. 

But there's one thing that makes this recipe even simpler - the new addition to the SIL kitchen; our Cuisine Companion. The machine does all the stirring and heating for you and your risotto cooks away whilst you twiddle your fingers (or play games, as is what happens whenever Jesse is in charge of the risotto). 

The Cuisine Companion comes with a hugeeeee cookbook filled with recipes, however, the risotto recipe in the cookbook calls for almost half a cup of oil and a quarter cup of butter - definitely not what you'd call a healthy recipe. 

Most risotto recipes generally call for a lot of butter or oil, however, this risotto recipe uses just a single tablespoon of oil whilst tasting incredibly decadent. It's a recipe you'd never guess was healthy or so simple to make and one we keep making week after week after week. 

But let me share the recipe with you so that you can make it for yourself! >> 

Lightened Up Basic Risotto Recipe serves 6-8
healthy, gluten free, low fat, clean eating friendly, vegetarian, vegan option

1/2 small (~50g) white onion, finely diced 
1 tbsp oil of your choice (we use rice bran or avocado oil as I can't eat olive oil)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
400g arborio rice (risotto rice)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 cups water 
1/2 cup (50g) parmesan cheese (you can use a vegan cheese for a vegan option)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Regular Stove-top Method:

• Add your prepared onion and garlic to a medium-large saucepan, cooking until golden and fragrant over a medium heat. 
• Next, add in your arborio rice, stirring to combine with your other ingredients and cooking for 1-2 minutes.
• Add in your stock and water*, bringing to the boil and reducing the heat back to medium. 
• Stir your risotto every now and again to ensure everything is cooking evenly and to help give your risotto a creamy texture.
• When your rice is soft and the liquid has almost entirely absorbed, add in your parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

*Alternate method; I know some people swear by the absorption method, adding 1/4 cup of liquid, allowing it to absorb then adding another 1/4 cup etcetc until all liquid is absorbed, however, we tested this version and it worked perfectly. If you'd prefer to make your risotto using the absorption method, feel free to!

Cuisine Companion Cooking Instructions: 

• Peel onion and place in bowl with ultrablade and garlic - mix on S11 for 10 seconds or until finely chopped. Replace ultrablade with mixer blade, add oil and launch P1 Slow Cooker without stopper for 7 minutes. When 4 minutes remain on your timer, add in the rice and restart. Add in your chicken stock and water and launch P2 Slow Cooker on 95ºC for 15 minutes with the stopper in place. When 1 minute remains on your timer, add your parmesan and restart. Season to taste and serve as is or add additional flavours/mix ins if desired.

Boscaiola Risotto Additions
simply add this into your basic risotto recipe for a delicious boscaiola risotto

1-1 1/2 cups lean leg ham, thinly sliced/diced
2-3 cups mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 spring onions/green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
~1 tbsp each fresh basil and parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a non-stick saucepan, saute your ham and mushrooms with your garlic over a medium-high until your mushrooms are browned and your ham is just lightly cooked. If needed, add a couple of drops of water to stop your ingredients sticking to your pan.
Season to taste and mix through your spring onions and herbs (if using) before mixing through your risotto or simply adding on top of your risotto. 
Serve immediately, garnished with additional herbs, cheese or spring onions if desired.

And there you have it, a delicious risotto made in minutes! I always like to make up a big batch and keep the leftovers for lunch the next day. Whilst it's better served fresh, I still think its absolutely deeeeeelicious reheated ;)

But tell me, are you a risotto fan and have you ever made one yourself?
What's one recipe you're hesitant to try?
I'm always hesitant to try complicated savoury recipes - or really, any recipes that has a million and one steps and uses a million and one dishes (because I'm probably just really lazy :P). One day, however, I really want to try making one of those Adriano Zumbo-esque cakes with a million and one different techniques just so I can say that I've done it.