Pesto Risotto

The recipe I adapted from Lynn Rosetto Casper's book, How To Eat Supper, was a success! Phil said, "This is [expletive deleted] incredible!" What more needs to be said? We ate the risotto with some chicken breast Phil cooked up while I stirred the rice for around 20 minutes.

The recipe:

3 T unsalted butter or olive oil
1 minced onion
S and P
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 heaping cup of arborio rice
1/2 c. white wine (I used an un-oaked Chardonnay)
4 c. chicken broth
5 T pesto
pine nuts

In a medium saucepan, warm the chicken broth and keep just below a simmer for the duration.





In a little skillet, toast pine nuts 'till brown.

In a larger saucepan, cook onion with butter over medium heat for about 3 minutes, 'till onion starts to soften. Add a few grinds of salt and pepper. Add garlic and rice, stir for 3 minutes.







Increase temp to med-high, stir in wine, keep stirring until mostly absorbed. Add 1 c. broth, stirring until mostly absorbed. Adjust heat as needed to maintain a simmer-- I had to go back to medium. Add another cup broth, stir 'till mostly absorbed. Add 1/2 c. broth, stir 'till mostly absorbed. Add another half cup, stir a couple of minutes. At this point, check for doneness (by eating a bit)-- rice should be a little bit firm in a near-soupy state. Add a bit more broth if necessary, otherwise, remove from heat. Let stand for 3 minutes while it firms up a bit.







Fold in pesto, top with toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately.

(We ate it with basil-garlic-orange marinated chicken breasts)