Giada's Dirty Risotto with Caprese Salad

If I am ever craving something and don't know a good recipe for it, I always go to www.foodnetwork.com. This recipe came from

celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis. Risotto is a delicious, creamy Italian rice dish, however, it is a labor of love. If you don't have the time to stand around the kitchen for 30 minutes constantly stirring your rice then don't make this dish. Without constant attention and stirring the chicken broth will not absorb properly and your dish will not come out correctly. For the chopped pancetta I think the precubed pancetta you can get in the deli section of the grocery store is to expensive. I get one slice, or however much you need for your recipe, cut a 1/2 inch thick and cube it myself at home. I served the risotto with a fresh caprese salad (recipe below).

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

2 ounces pancetta, chopped

1 link (about 6 ounces) spicy Italian sausage, casing removed

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

4 ounces button mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep warm over low heat.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pancett

a and sausage and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms and saute until tender, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next (this is the key to risotto, you need to wait until all the liquid is absorbed before adding more broth) until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 25 to 30 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Stir in 3/4 of the Parmesan. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the parsley and remaining Parmesan and serve immediately.

Caprese Salad

Travis grows fresh bail on our porch which we used as a garnish for the salad. It was delicious!

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 large bib lettuce leaf (to serve salad on, optional)

1 ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced

2 tomatoes, one orange and one red for color, sliced

Fresh Basil

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Place 1 large bib lettuce leaf on each salad plate. Start with a slice of tomato, then a slice of mozzarella, then of tomato (interchanging tomato colors if you have more than 1), mozzarella, tomato, and so on until you have used all your cheese and tomatoes on both plates. Top with basil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.