GREEN CHILE RISOTTO2 cups Arborio rice1-2 onions 4 cloves garlic 1 cup vermouth 1 quart mushroom broth 1 quart vegetable broth butter and olive oil 1-2 cups finely chopped green chile, seasoned with Lawry’s Garlic Salt 1 cup grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano Preheat a burner on medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onion in butter and/or olive oil for a couple minutes. Add rice and sauté another couple of minutes. Add the vermouth and sauté until the liquid is absorbed. Begin adding broth 1-2 ladles at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed. The liquid should bubble gently but not boil hard. When the rice is done cooking, probably after 20-30 minutes, add the chiles and stir well. Mix in the cheese, and add a small amount of broth to make the risotto creamy. Mix in a tablespoon of butter to make the risotto more creamy. A good choice for the vegetable broth is to use Better than Bouillon, which comes in a jar. Do not use too much bouillon, else the risotto will be too salty. I use Pacific Natural Foods brand mushroom broth. Quantities of the ingredients can be changed according to one’s taste. Ideally, the green chile should have a good bite to it, but should not be excessively hot. Being able to use a lot of chile is important for the dish. This is a really yummy variant of a classic Italian dish. If those Italians who can tolerate a little spice only tasted this dish, they’d be demanding their government to start importing chile from New Mexico! I owe eternal thanks to Vicki, who suggested that I make a risotto with green chile. Serves 4 people. |