A Summertime Risotto

We enjoyed this tomato and fresh corn risotto for dinner with brats hot off the grill. The addition of corn sliced right-off-the-cob and ripe, red tomatoes, plus fresh basil made the creamy risotto a surprisingly refreshing summer side.

This is only my second risotto. The first being a shrimp and spinach risotto that I made way back in blustery February. Something I have learned about preparing risotto is that you want to keep your cooking liquid warm before adding it to the risotto. This will help to maintain an even temperature in the skillet. Adding cold liquid to hot rice lengthens the cooking time. So that's my first step. I measured out the appropriate amount of milk, water, and chicken broth and poured them into a saucepan to heat. Once the liquids are nice and hot, I reduce the heat to low and keep them warm. Pardon this picture. I have no idea why I took such a "crappy" shot. I guess I was trying to show the water, milk, and broth. In retrospect, it is a silly picture and not terribly illustrative or informative. Oh well, now I need a picture here and this is all I have. Thanks for bearing with me. LOL.



Here I've posed all of the produce involved in the recipe. Again, I'm not really sure what purpose this photo serves. (I'm having an "off" night) I know...it shows all the yummy fresh things going into this risotto. Yeah. That's it.



In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in a garlic clove and a large, finely chopped onion. Saute until tender.



Then stir in 3/4 cup of arborio rice. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes, heating the rice.



Now add in one cup of the hot liquid mixture. Cook and stir until all liquid is absorbed. Add remaining water mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Allow the liquid to absorb between additions. A picture would have been good here. Yet, it did not occur to me. I'm a total space cadet today. Arrgh!

Here's the goal: a very creamy, near-tender rice. Once you get here (it takes 20 minutes or so) and all of the hot liquid is added and absorbed, then you can stop all that crazy cooking and stirring and do something else with your life...



like add the other ingredients. Here are 1-1/3 cups of fresh corn, a large tomato, seeded and chopped, about half a cup of basil, sliced thin, and half a cup of grated cheese. I used 1/4 cup of parmigiano-reggiano and 1/4 cup of the store brand stuff to maximize the flavor and keep down costs.



Stir the ingredients into the risotto and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.



And there you go, the perfect summertime risotto. Enjoy!





Tomato 'n' Corn Risotto from the 2009 Annual Taste of Home Recipes Cookbook

2-1/2 cups water
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup uncooked arborio rice
1-1/3 cups fresh corn (about 4 ears of corn)
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the water, milk and broth; keep warm. In a large
skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add rice; cook and stir
for 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup hot water mixture. Cook and stir until all liquid
is absorbed. Add remaining water mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring
constantly. Allow the liquid to absorb between additions. Cook until risotto is
creamy and rice is almost tender.(Cooking time is about 20 minutes.) Stir in the
remaining ingredients; heat through.

Yield: 5 servings.

Nutrition Facts: One serving: 3/4 cup Calories: 295 Fat: 11 g Saturated Fat: 6 g Cholesterol: 29 mg Sodium: 476 mg Carbohydrate: 41 g Fiber: 2 g Protein: 10 g

Weight Watcher Points: 6 per serving