by Mike Filigenzi » Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:09 pm
I was thumbing through a Nigella Lawson cookbook recently and came across a recipe for cheddar cheese risotto. As one who loves mac and cheese, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of doing this on my own. Guess it's a little too non-Italian, but that's a poor excuse. I'm not going to copy her recipe as it's really not necessary. Just saute some thinly sliced scallions in butter or butter/olive oil, dump in the rice, toast it a bit, and then start adding the stock (veggie or chicken). Do the regular risotto thing and when the rice is done, dump in the grated sharp cheddar. (I started with 1 1/2 cup of rice and used a roughly equal amount of cheddar.) I also threw in a generous helping of thawed frozen peas. I really liked it. It combines the comfort aspects of mac and cheese with that lovely risotto texture. I haven't started looking into further modifications/additions to this, but the sky's the limit.
"People who love to eat are always the best people"
- Julia Child