Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and sausage crumbled (about 2 links)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
Pinch saffron (optional)
1 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Instructions
1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add pancetta and cook until crisp.  Remove from pan to paper towel lined plate.  Add sausage to pan and cook, stirring, until completely browned and cooked through.  Remove to plate with pancetta, leaving grease in pan. 

2. Add onion to pan and cook until translucent.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add rice and stir until rice is coated.  Add tomatoes.  Add saffron, rubbing between fingers to crush while adding.  Stir well. 

3. Add wine and cook, stirring, until completely absorbed.  Add 1/2-1 cup of broth and cook, stirring often, until broth is completely absorbed.  Repeat process until all broth has been added and absorbed and rice is tender. 

4. Reduce heat to low and stir in pancetta, sausage, cream, Parmesan, and parsley.  Garnish with additional Parmesan if desired. 



Comments
This recipe is from Mrs. Regueiro’s Plate and I’d actually forgotten it had saffron in it until now, when I’m posting it.  The saffron doesn’t shine in this dish at all, so I’ll omit it next time.  Otherwise, this recipe is great.  We all loved the risotto, it was a pretty complete meal with a salad.  Leftovers went pretty quickly and we all enjoyed it quite a bit!

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup rice
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Instructions
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook until browned, about 4 minutes on each side.  Remove to cutting board and cool slightly before cutting into cubes. 

2. Add rice, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to skillet.  Cook, stirring frequently, until rice is toasted and onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic, oregano, chili powder, and cayenne.  Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes, bell pepper, and chicken broth.  Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Stir in chicken, cover skillet, and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. 

3. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese and green onions.  Cover until cheese is melted and serve. 



Comments
This recipe is from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.  Sadly, I managed to forget bell pepper but, since I had green beans in the fridge, I used those.  Obviously this gave the dish a different flavor, but I thought it was pretty tasty.  But, I don’t think this dish is a keeper.  I’ve made a number of Tex-Mex type casseroles that are much better, so this one wouldn’t be the one I’d choose to make when I was in the mood for such things.  It’s tasty and fine, but nothing spectacular.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup frozen peas
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1/3 Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until soft.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add rice and stir until coated with oil and opaque. 

2. Add wine and cook, stirring, until completely absorbed.  Add 1/2-1 cup of broth and cook, stirring often, until broth is completely absorbed.  Repeat process until all broth has been added and absorbed.  Add butter, peas, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Stir until butter has melted and peas are warm.  Remove from heat, stir in Parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 



Comments
This recipe is from Baked Bree.  It was very tasty, a nice and simple risotto.  I don’t know what else to say about this recipe because it’s yet another yummy risotto variation. 

Shown here with Baked Salmon with White Wine Dill Sauce.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion , chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
8 cups chicken broth
3-4 small zucchini, diced (around 3-4 cups of diced zucchini)
10 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
1-2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Melt butter in large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Stir in onions and cook 2 minutes, or until starting to soften.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.  Add rice and cook, stirring often, until rice is opaque and well coated with oil, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Add wine and stir until absorbed. 

2. Working 1/2 to 1 cup at a time, add broth to rice mixture.  Stir often until broth is almost completely absorbed before adding more.  Repeat until rice is almost tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.  (This might not use all of the broth, which is okay.  If it ends up needing more broth than you’ve got, use water.) 

3. When rice is almost tender, stir in zucchini, sundried tomatoes and thyme.  Continue cooking, stirring, and adding more broth as necessary until rice is tender.  Stir in Parmesan and basil and season with salt and pepper before serving. 



Comments
This recipe is from allrecipes.com and it makes quite a bit of risotto.  Feel free to halve all of the ingredients if you’re not feeding an army or don’t want leftovers.  I had plans to use the leftovers to make Arancini, so I wasn’t too worried about the large amount of food this generates. 

The verdict on this risotto was mixed.  Art and I loved it and loved all of the flavors.  Lance felt that all of the added stuff overwhelmed the taste of the rice itself and thought the risotto was better in Arancini form later in the week.  The risotto you see on the plate was also a bit wet, but it firmed up once it cooled and absorbed more of the liquid – I was just impatient to serve it and have dinner!

You will not that I don’t advocate heating the broth ahead of time in this recipe and that’s a shift I’ve made over the last few years as I cook more and more risottos.  When cooking small amounts of risotto like this, it doesn’t seem to be necessary to heat the broth in advance.  I just pour it into the pot direct from the container and the risotto is just as tasty and correct texturally as it is when I heat the broth prior to use.  This is all a matter of personal preference, and I recommend that you cook the way that works best for you. 

Shown here with Baked Parmesan Tilapia.