SEVENSEAS - 125
Fall Harvest Risotto
Every once in a while- especially at the end of harvest season, I end up with way too many peppers, pumpkins, or something in bulk that needs to be used up. The easiest thing to do is cook down whatever the heck you have (slow cookers are great for this), throw it in the food processor, season it appropriately, and make a soup. Freeze it in portion-sized containers and there's dinner when you're in a rush. Having a semi-constant supply of soup in the freezer made me a little creative when I was craving a risotto and we discovered: just use a hearty soup instead of water when cooking rice. If you don't have any frozen soup (and you probably don't because you're not a crazy person) choose a favorite boxed brand from the grocery store, bring 2.5 parts of the soup and 1 part rice, and a drizzle of olive oil it to a near boil then cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Since our soups may vary in consistency, after 20 minutes if your risotto is too "dry," raise the heat again and add a little more soup or water. If it is a little too "wet" raise the heat to medium and stir till it's the right consistency (don't let the rice to the bottom!). Use anything from butternut squash to creamy tomato, this is totally cheating by your mother’s standards but I love it. This can be as vegan as you want or feel free to grate-in a wheel or pecorino cheese on top.