Fresh Herb Risotto

Risotto sums up all that I love about starch. Hot, creamy, slightly chewy yet soft rice cooked long enough to soak up the flavors of everything else you put with it. My favorite is a wild mushroom risotto, which I will post on this site someday, but I had a bunch of fresh herbs from the market and thought I'd try this with the remainder of my arborio rice. I found it while perusing the NY Times "Recipes for Health..." Risotto=healthy? Ok! You won't hear me argue that one!


Ingredients
7 cups chicken stock
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used parsley, chives, dill and tarragon, but feel free to throw in whatever you prefer or happen to have on hand)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Ingredients
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
2. Chop the herbs and garlic. Add 1/4 of the garlic to the herbs, and set aside in a small bowl.

3. In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
4. Dice the onion and add to the oil, along with some salt. Cook until tender, about three minutes.
*Note: do not brown the onion, as it will affect the flavor of the finished product.

5. Stir in the rice and three cloves of minced garlic. Stir until the rice is coated with oil and begins to crackle.
*Note: it may not look like a lot of rice at first, but trust me - it's really going to fluff up.

6. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
7. Add 1 1/2 ladles of hot chicken stock so that it just covers the rice. The stock should be bubbling, not too slowly or too quickly.

8. Once the stock is absorbed, add another 1 1/2 ladles of stock. Repeat this process until all of the stock is gone and the rice is creamy. This usually takes about 25 minutes.
9. Zest and juice a lemon, and freshly grate some Parmesan cheese.
10. Add the herb/garlic mixture you set aside previously, as well as a little salt, black pepper, and the lemon zest and juice. Remove from heat and stir rapidly until well-combined.
11. Serve hot, perhaps following a light salad to tie you over while the risotto cooks away.