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Why is it faux risotto, you
ask?
Authentic risotto is made
with rice and involves spending much time over a hot stove
adding liquid and stirring. Since this recipe doesn’t use
rice, and is much easier to prepare, and tastes just as good,
I call it faux risotto! I can’t take credit for the recipe
(I got it from Mark Bittman’s book, How
to Cook Everything), but it’s so good, I feel obligated
to share it!
I discovered it a year and
a half ago, the first night I made dinner in my brand new
apartment (no roommates, no parents, no siblings, just me
and the cat!). Everyone I’ve made it for loves it! It’s super
yummy, rather easy and pretty quick to prepare. And although
intended as a side dish, I sometimes just eat it for dinner.
These amounts should be enough for 2-3 people as a side dish,
but you can always double it, it’s still good the next day.
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1 tbsp butter
or olive oil
1/2 small yellow
or white onion, minced (would probably be good
with shallots too)
1 1/2 cups chicken,
beef or veggie stock
3/4 cups Orzo
Pasta (pasta that looks like rice)
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup freshly
grated Parmesan cheese (not the stuff in the green
can, yuck! Buy real Parmesan if you can)
1/4 cup minced
fresh parsley leaves (I’ve also used dried parsley,
but use half as much, because it can be pretty
potent in its dried state!)
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1. Place butter in a
3 or 4 quart saucepan and turn heat to medium. When
the butter melts add the onion and cook until it becomes
sort of soft and translucent. At this point the recipe
says to heat the stock in a separate pan, and if you
have homemade stock, go ahead and do that. I usually
end up using a bouillon cube, which you have to dissolve
in hot water, so I already have hot stock waiting.
2. Add the Orzo to the
onion and stir once or twice, season with salt and pepper
and add the stock, all at once. Cover and reduce heat
to medium-low.
3. Cook, stirring every
few minutes to prevent sticking, until the liquid is
absorbed and the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. If, for some
reason, the pasta is not done (I’ve never had this happen
to me), add 1/2 cup more water or stock and cook another
5 minutes until it’s absorbed and the pasta is done.
Stir in half the Parmesan cheese and parsley. Garnish
with the remaining parsley and serve, passing the remaining
Parmesan at the table.
3 easy steps to Faux
Risotto!
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Whitney
is a celebrity, graphic designer, and creator of The
Ugly Green Chair. She lives and works in California
with her lovely cat Chelsea. She digs Myriad
Tilt - just like I do.
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