risotto: easy gluten-free entertaining

mid way through cooking, slowly adding liquid...

Making risotto is one of the easiest dishes you can make. A lot of fuss can be made around perfecting this dish... but trust me, it's pretty hard to muck up. 

Here's how I make a super simple spinach or kale risotto.

Saute a finely chopped onion in good olive oil, when onion is clear, toss in a cup of risotto rice (arborio is the most common type). Coat rice with the oil, when heated through, toss in a small glass of white wine (optional), when the liquid has cooked off toss in a full bunch of chopped greens and stir until wilted. Add boiled water from your kettle slowly until it covers the ingredients. I toss in a gf bouillon cube too. Keep stirring. Add more water until the rice is cooked through (but not mushy). 

At the end you can either stir in some butter and parmeggiano cheese to taste. Alternatively, stir in some butter or oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice. 

There are umpteen variations on this dish (seafood, mushroom, etc.) Essentially it's all about the order in which you cook things. Veggies like asparagus or anything that you don't want cooked too much can go in closer to the end. 

Note that I don't go too much into measurements. This is a dish where you use your instincts to deliver a consistency that appeals to your palette. Ideally, it should be just soupy enough that it "sets" in a shallow dish. Leftovers are going to be goopier... more like an oatmeal consistency. Tasty all the same. After you've experimented and get comfortable with this dish, I'm sure you'll find it an excellent option when entertaining.