Tip for Vidalia-Feta Risotto

[Jessica]

I made this family favorite last night, and I substituted 1/2 c. white wine (this was a dry V. Sattui Riesling) for 1/2 c. broth. The result was delicious, although next time I might add even a little more wine.

Yum.

[mightyh]

Yum! Sounds delicious... You mean I can make one of my favorties even better?

[Jessica]

I forgot to say that I added the wine in the middle, after the rice already had soaked up 1 c broth.

[lnodes]

I love this recipe! Always looking for new ways to make it more interesting... I can taste it now.

[mb]

i made this once before, and it was delicious! i tried again last week, but decided to cut the recipe in half (it was just the 2 of us & i was afraid of having too much leftover). the flavor was delicious, but the risotto was still a little too 'al dente' for our tastes. since i added all the liquid and the cheeses, i didn't know what i could do to 'fix' it. is risotto one of those recipes you just can't divide in half?!?

we still ate it anyway since it tasted so good! :D it was just a little bit crunchy!

mb

[TIGBOO]

Great winery! Everytime I am in Northern California, I have to run to this vineyard and reload on my Madeira stock!

I can't imagine anything that can't be improved by this wine!

[Peeps]

I'm bumping this up because I have the same question as marisa. I halved this recipe the other night and although it was very good it did seem to be a little underdone (even though I followed the recipe exactly and cooked it as long as I was supposed to). I tried the recipe again last night (don't ask me why I just didn't make the whole recipe initially - I just thought it would be too much since my only other attempt at risotto produced a HUGE amount) and tried to do it on a lower heat to keep the liquid from boiling off instead of being absorbed and I even added additional liquid (more than half the amount in the recipe) and cooked it longer but it still wasn't as creamy as I think it should/could be - still a little crunch.
SO - can you just not halve risotto recipes?

[kwormann]

I dont have an answer as to WHY it didnt work, but I can tell you that you definately can halve a risotto recipe! I do because I dont care for the leftovers very much.

[Jewel]

Well, I have a theory as to why the 'half recipe' risotto isn't cooked through: you decrease your cooking time when you decrease the liquid.

Risotto is all about arborio rice cooking very slowly, absorbing the liquid that you put in a ladleful at a time. It takes 20-25 minutes for your arborio to absorb the 3 cups or so of liquid. If you've used half the rice and half the liquid, wouldn't it absorb all its liquid and be done within 15 minutes or so? At 15 minutes, arborio rice is still crunchy! Just my opinion, but doesn't it sound logical?

And a year or so back I found a recipe called Champagne & Feta Risotto that had about a half cup of champagne thrown in along with the broth, and we love the extra zing! I use white wine most of the time, but it's so good! :D

[Peeps]

Originally posted by Jewel
Well, I have a theory as to why the 'half recipe' risotto isn't cooked through: you decrease your cooking time when you decrease the liquid.

Risotto is all about arborio rice cooking very slowly, absorbing the liquid that you put in a ladleful at a time. It takes 20-25 minutes for your arborio to absorb the 3 cups or so of liquid. If you've used half the rice and half the liquid, wouldn't it absorb all its liquid and be done within 15 minutes or so? At 15 minutes, arborio rice is still crunchy! Just my opinion, but doesn't it sound logical?

Actually both times I cooked it for longer than the recipe said - it says to cook for 20 minutes to absorb all the liquid and even with half the recipe, the first time still took over 20 minutes (I added broth 1/4 cup at a time instead of 1/2 c.) and the second time I tried it I cooked it at least 25 minutes, also thinking that time might have been a factor. It wasn't crunchy like say, rice krispies or anything, I could just tell the centers weren't quite done all the way through. Still VERY good though and won't dissuade me from trying the recipe again. (Although I'd just make the whole thing next time since it wasn't too huge a batch and the leftovers heated up well.)

[valeriek]

I have never tried halving a risotto recipe, but I recently tried freezing risotto and it worked perfectly. I froze indiviual portions of the Sundried tomato and basil risotto from the 1996 annual recipe book (which means it was a 1995 recipe). I was cooking for only myself and didn't want to have to deal with all those leftovers, so I froze it instead. I was worried that it would freeze well (really I mean I was worried it wouldn't reheat well) but I pulled a portion out just last week, stuck it in the microwave, and it came out perfectly. It maintained its consistency and everything. This particular recipe does not have feta in it, but it did have parmesean and the freezing process didn't seem to affect the cheese that much. I think maybe with the feta recipe I would leave the cheese out, freeze the portions, and then add the cheese when I reheat.

[amcleod]

I love risotto - can I find the recipe you're referring to in Recipe Search? if not, can someone post it?

Many thanks!

p.s. about halving, i think it should work. Weird that it didn't. Whenever I make risotto, I always end up cooking it for 30 minutes...standing in front of the stove, stirring constantly while the DH sits and watches TV! :rolleyes:

[Peeps]

Here you go - it originally ran in 1997 but was the back page "Back to the Best" in the June 2000 issue.

Vidalia Onion Risotto with Feta Cheese


2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 large garlic cloves -- minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Feta cheese -- divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in rice. Add 1/2 cup broth; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is nearly absorbed before adding the next portion of broth. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup Feta cheese, parsley, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon rice mixture into a serving bowl; top with 1/4 cup Feta cheese and pepper.

Serving Size: 1 cup
Source: "Cooking Light, April 1997, p.119"
Copyright:"© Cooking Light"
Yield: "5 cups"