Risotto is a classic Italian dish of short-grained rice cooked slowly with white wine, onions, and homemade stock until al dente… the results are truly heavenly.  The dish gets its undeniably unique flavor and texture from the slow release of the rice’s natural starches.  The traditional method for cooking risotto is a bit laborious, seeing that you must continually stir the rice with incrementally adding warm stock to the dish as it absorbs.

Not anymore!  I have tried a couple of different baked risotto dishes, my favorite of which is from Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa).  Her Baked Parmesan Risotto is easy and foolproof.  No more standing over the hot stove continually stirring your risotto, this simple recipe takes out all of the grunt work; simply bake the rice in stock until tender and then add in your wine, a touch more stock, Parmesan cheese and a pat of butter. I decided to add a bit more flavor to the finished product in the form of roasted brussels sprouts, crispy pancetta, and fresh thyme.  Along with the foolproof method of baking the risotto, this combination of flavors is fantastico. 

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Tagged: arborio rice, bacon, Barefoot Contessa, brussels sprouts, fresh thyme, Ina Garten, Italian, Italy, pancetta, Parmesan cheese, parmesan risotto, risotto, roasted brussels sprouts, roasted shallots, roasted vegetables, shallots, thyme