THE QUINTESSENTIAL PESTO WITH RISOTTO
PESTO
- 1 large garlic clove (remove any green center)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ tight-packed cup fresh young basil leaves
- 2 heaping tablespoons pine nuts
- ¼ cup grated Fiore Sardo sheep cheese or
- American Stella Fontinella; or 3 tablespoons fresh-grated Locatelli Romano
- ½ cup fresh-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 4 tablespoons good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter or good-tasting extravirgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 heaping cup (8 ounces) Italian Arborio or Carnaroli rice
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 3½ to 4 cups Cheater’s Homemade Vegetable Broth
- ¼ cup pine nuts
Instructions:
Fragrance billows out of this risotto.
- You can prepare the pesto in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor with the motor running. Start by pureeing the garlic and salt. Gradually add the basil and then the pine nuts, crushing or processing everything into a rough paste. Pour in the cheeses and the oil, and stir to blend. The pesto should be a rough paste. Set it aside.
- In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, heat the butter or oil over medium heat, adding the onions with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Sauté until the onions are soft and clear, about 3 minutes. Blend in the garlic and rice, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Raise the heat to medium high. Stir in the wine, and cook until it’s absorbed. Begin adding the broth, 1 cup at a time, simmering and stirring each addition until the liquid is absorbed by the rice before adding the next cup. Never cover the pot. Once you start adding the broth, the cooking time will be about 15 minutes. After cooking in about 2½ cups, start adding the broth in ½-cup portions. Begin tasting the risotto.
- When it’s ready, the rice should be close to tender, with a little more firmness to the bite than you’d like, and it should be nearly soupy (it will finish cooking and absorb a little more broth in the next step). Never cook the rice to a mush.
- Immediately remove the pot from the heat; let it stand for 3 minutes. Then fold in the pesto, sprinkle with the pine nuts, and serve.