Corn Risotto

This is a public service announcement:

Risotto is not as hard to make as the world at large would have you believe.

Thank you. Now, back to your irregularly scheduled Dinner Adventure.

It's true! You do have to resign yourself to standing over a hot stove for about 30 minutes, but don't let anyone trick you into believing (like I used to) that risotto is rocket science. Just be sure to use a short grain rice that has a high starch content--we used Arborio. Also, don't add too much broth at a time; let the rice absorb the liquid before you add more.

This recipe came from the Joy of Cooking: the vegetarian edition.

Ingredients:

5 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup scallions
1/2 cups rice
1/2 cup dry white wine


2 cups corn (we used corn from the cob, highly recommended ((4 ears should do it)) puree 1 cup and leave the other cup whole
1 cup diced tomatoes (we used canned)
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 Tablespoon lime juice

Simmer 5 cups vegetable stock. Keep your vegetable stock in a separate pot from the rice. Let simmer on low as you cook your risotto so that you are adding warm stock to the rice.

In as separate pot melt 2 Tablespoons butter. Add 1/2 cup chopped scallions (use the white part of the scallion) and cook about 5 minutes. 

With pot on medium-low heat, add 1 1/2 cups rice and stir to coat rice with butter. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine. Stir constantly, or as constantly as you need to stir to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. When rice has absorbed the wine add 1 cup of stock. Once the stock is absorbed, add more. Continue adding stock (about 1/2 cup at a time) until you run out. This will probably take 20-30 minutes. 

When your rice is close to done cooking, add your cup of pureed corn. Continue cooking. Rice will be done when it is soft and creamy but not so mushy that you feel you could gum it (al dente if you're fancy).

When rice is done, take off the heat. Add 1 cup diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons chopped basil, 1 tablespoon lime juice, the rest of the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Yum! This really is a fabulous recipe. Each of the flavors comes through really strongly. The fresh basil, corn, tomato, and lime make this dish feel fresh and light. Now that I've found out how easy and delicious risotto can be I'm going to look for other variations to try, but it will be hard to surpass this one.