90 Minute Risotto

How do you take a dish that should take 20 minutes to prepare and stretch it out to 90 minutes?  Let me explain... My sister got me a CostCo membership for Christmas this past year, and I have been working that membership all through 2010 like it's going out of style.  Recently I found a 12-lb bag of Lundberg Farms Organic Brown Short Grain Rice at CostCo which really excited me... now for those of you who don't know, short grain rice is a thicker and starchy grain similar to arborio rice, but with all of the whole grain benefits of brown rice.  It's delicious, which is why that 12-lb bag found it's way into my cart, then into my car, then into this extremely oversized jar that now resides on our kitchen counter:

I love risotto.  The funny thing about risotto is that I never had it before I was diagnosed as Celiac.  Growing up in an Italian family, we never indulged in risotto or even polenta for that matter.  I guess this "newness" added to my excitement.  What I love most about risotto is that it's a one pot meal and you can add in anything you want.  One pot meals are the best thing in the world.  If I can scoop it into a bowl and eat it while I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, then I am a happy man.

Back to risotto.... Sunday, I decided was going to be a risotto night - but then the gears starting turning in my brain and I thought about all of that short grain brown rice that I had sitting on the counter.  A perfect substitution for arborio rice, I thought... and it would even be healthier.  Except, I neglected to acknowledge the fact that brown rice takes considerably longer to cook than any white rice and really only begins to soften when it is in a covered pot.  At this point, however, I still did not realize that my risotto prep time had increased from 20 to 90 minutes.  Rachel Ray would need 3 back to back episodes to complete this 30-minute meal... and about 60 of those minutes would be spent doing nothing but stirring the pot (which does not make for very good Food TV).  Here are the basics of the recipe:  

Roasted Chicken & Vegetable Short Grain Brown Rice Risotto
1 cup short grain brown rice
1 vidalia onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
2 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 T finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used an Italian Pinot Grigio)
6-8 cups of chicken broth (more on that later - this needed much more liquid than I thought)
2 roasted boneless chicken breasts, diced (I had leftover chicken breasts that were oven roasted with lemon, olive oil, oregano and basil)
1 6 oz. bag of baby spinach
1 large yellow squash, diced
1-2 cups of cremini mushrooms, diced and sauteed in olive oil until brown (then set aside for risotto)
1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano and marjoram + some for garnish
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste

All risotto starts the same way - first, simmer your chicken broth in a pot to the side... then melt the butter into the olive oil at the bottom of a large pot.  I like to use our small cast iron dutch oven for risotto because it keeps the heat even throughout.  Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Add the chopped thyme.  Stir together until the onion softens and the thyme and garlic are fragrant.  Then add the rice and stir until coated.  Toast the rice lightly for a couple of minutes.  Then add the white wine and begin stirring the risotto.  This is where the labor begins and this is where I realized that brown rice takes longer to cook than white.  Normally, arborio rice soaks up the wine like a sponge.  But after 5 minutes of stirring, it was just starting to soak in.  Then begin to ladle in 2-3 scoops of chicken broth at a time, stirring the rice mixture vigorously until all of the liquid is absorbed.  Stir.  Stir some more.  Then a little more.  Then switch hands and stir again.

After 45 minutes I realized that this was not going to take 20 minutes.  I also realized that the rice wasn't getting tender and I needed more broth.  I started with 1 quart and ended up using an entire second quart (a total of 8 cups).  What I also realized at this point was that the brown rice would soften better if covered.  So I started a rotation of adding broth, stirring for a minute or so, then covering for 6-8 minutes, then stirring again, then repeating until all of the broth was used.  About 10 minutes before the rice is done, add the yellow squash and stir through.  This needs the most cooking time to soften, out of all of the risotto add-ins.  With just a minute or so left, I gave the baby spinach a rough chop and stirred it through.  Once the spinach wilts down, add in the prepared diced chicken and mushrooms and stir just to warm through.  Once the rice is fully cooked and tender, and all of the add-ins are warmed through and delicious.... the risotto should be nice and creamy.  Then, the big finish - stir in the parmigiano reggiano and the chopped oregano/marjoram mixture.  It is so important to serve risotto when it's hot - so immediately scoop into bowls and garnish with some extra grated cheese and a sprinkle of herbs.

And THAT, my friends, is how it took me an hour and a half to get a simple risotto dish out on the table.  It was definitely worth the wait though - the brown rice added a great, hearty, almost nutty flavor.  The fresh herbs made it feel totally homemade, the zucchini still had some crunch and the pre-roasted chicken had great fresh flavors running through it.  All in all, a great sunday dinner - served just before 9pm.