Thursday, May 29, 2008

Sun Dried Tomato and Mozzeralla Risotto

I made this last night for dinner and it was delicious.  I got the recipe from the William's Sonoma Vegetarian cookbook.  Sadly my garden isn't ready to provide large portions of fresh basil yet, so I only added a few fresh leaves and some dried.  Not ideal, but still great.  I have become a HUGE fan of risotto, in the last couple of months as I've tried to replace meat as the main dish with other things.  I was intimidated by it, but once I finally tried making it I realized it isn't as complicated as I thought it would be. I love risotto because there are loads of variations, so it makes a terrific main dish and adds variety to a meatless (almost) diet.


5 1/2 cups vegetable stock (I actually used the Costco Pacific chicken broth)
1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (water packed is ideal, but any will do)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste ( I omitted salt because between the broth and cheese I think there is plenty already)

In a large saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer. While the stock is heating, drain the sun-dried tomatoes and reserve the oil. Chop the tomatoes coarsely and set them aside.
In a large frying pan, warm 2 tablespoons of oil from the tomatoes, add onion and saute until translucent; about 6 minutes.
Add rice to the frying pan and stir until white spots appear in the center of the grains; about 1 minute. Spoon a ladleful of vegetable stock into the frying pan and cook the mixture on low until all the stock is absorbed; about 2 minutes. Continue adding the stock, a ladleful at a time until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Add the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil from the tomatoes, chopped basil, and salt and pepper. Mix well and serve

4 comments:

Maren said...

Anna, just curious how often are you eating meat now?

Anna said...

We eat meat when we go out, go to a bbq, or eat at someone elses house, so about once a week.

AnneMarie said...

I'm trying to whittle it down to about once a week too, but Ross keeps complaining that he's shriveling:)

Trish said...

Hi I think this website is fabulous! I am kind of a spelling nazi though, and it is "Risotto" not "Rissoto". But the recipe looks delish! I will definitely try it at home.