I heart risotto.

I heart risotto. I love eating it and I don't mind making it-- just a lot of stirring. Risotto is a wonderful dish because you can tweak the basic recipe to pair it with virtually any side dish. The basic recipe that I follow is from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking. She goes into great detail about the proper risotto pot, the liquid, the rice and etc. If you have a birthday coming up, I suggest that you add this book to your wish list, it is excellent.

I find the basic recipe a wonderful compliment when served with a rich meat such as lamb or steak, this past Friday however we just had baked chicken so I combined several recipes and really jazzed up the risotto to make it the highlight of the meal.

What makes this one special is the sauted mushrooms in red wine and butter sauce that is drizzled over the finished risotto and the crispy proschiutto that adds a much needed crunch to the dish. Blanched asparagus is also added for color and flavor.

Ingredients
For the Risotto
4C warmed chicken broth
1C aborio rice
1 C red wine
1/2 C diced onion
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 c parmesian cheese
1 bunch of asparagus cut diagonally and blanced

For the Mushroom Sauce
1 package baby bellas
1/2 onion diced
1 garlic cloved minced
3T butter
1/2 C red wine

5-6 slices of proschiutto for garnish

Heat the chicken broth and keep it on the stove next to the risotto pot.

In the Risotto pot add a bit of oil and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes or until they begin to soften.

Add the rice and toast for about one minute

Add the wine and stir the rice until the liquid is absorbed

Continue to add broth and stir until the rice won't absorb any more liquid, this will take a lot of stirring and about 3-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan heat the butter and add garlic and onions. After 2-3 minutes add the mushrooms. Salt and Pepper.

Once the mushrooms have absorbed the butter add the wine, turn the heat to low and continue to cook until the mushrooms have carmelized and the sauce is thick, about 20 minutes.

Turn the broiler on high. Place the proschiutto slices on a baking pan and broil for 8 minutes or until crisp. Note, they will continue to crisp up as they cool.

To serve, combine the blanched asparagus with the risotto. Top each serving with a generous portion of mushrooms and crispy proschiutto. Garnish with parmesian.