Risotto

Tonight I made risotto for supper, which is an Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. It is one of my signature dishes, and I make it quite often. My family likes to eat it relatively plain - no fancy flavours like butternut squash, wild mushroom, or seafood. I usually only flavour my risotto with olive oil, chicken broth, onion, Parmesan cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. That's all it needs. My family also likes to have our risotto as a main course with a few sides, rather than as a side dish with a main course. We just spoon up large helpings and add some vegetables and sometimes meat on the side. Everyone likes their risotto cooked to a slightly different consistency. Some like it quite soupy, others very dry. My family's preference is somewhere in between the two, leaning closer to the dry side. Risotto can be cooked quite firm, al dente, soft, or mushy. We like ours softer than al dente, but with a little chew to it.
A common misconception about risotto is that it is quite difficult, labour-intensive, and time-consuming to make. Well, this is not true. It is an easy art to master once you get the hang of it, it just requires a little practice. It does not take too long to make, 30 - 60 minutes, but it does require a close eye and quite a bit of stirring. It does not need to be stirred constantly, but quite often to prevent the rice from sticking and to allow it to absorb the liquid evenly.
Plain risotto is a convenient dish to make, because it uses only common shelf staples. One year for Christmas I gave a mushroom risotto mix as a present. It would keep for three months and, along with a carton of chicken broth, contained pretty much everything you need to make the dish. It is a wonderful gift to accompany with a good quality wooden spoon (an essential tool for making risotto), some oven mitts, and an imported extra-virgin olive oil. This is a gift sure to delight any home cook!