I love making risotto. I know a lot of people think it’s an intimidating dish to make, but I find it positively meditative. I had a long day yesterday, and I came home completely exhausted. I woke up from a post-work nap and decided to make risotto for dinner. Perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind as an easy dinner after a long day, but it was just what I needed.
The trick is that you have to pay attention. You can’t multitask when you make risotto. There’s no time to check email, look at bills, work on lesson plans, or make phone calls. You have to stir and wait. And you can see your progress. It’s tangible, the risotto gets thicker and creamier the more you stir and add broth. And when it’s done, you’ve accomplished something kind of magnificent and slightly magical. And all you had to do was unplug from the world for a little while and just concentrate on one thing. And how often do we get to do that? Like I said…meditation.
So here’s the recipe I used, a triumph from the January 2009 issue of Gourmet.
Pea and Bacon Risotto