Recipe: Boo-sotto (risotto with variations)

BOO-SOTTO (RISOTTO WITH VARIATIONS)

"This is a risotto my mom and I created for my dog Boo. As she got older, she needed a careful balance of carbs and meat: Mostly carbs (that's my girl!). Mom and I would eat as much as Boo. Now that she has gone on, we eat this in her honor."

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (twice around the pan)
3 crushed garlic cloves (Boo loved garlic!)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (we grated a little onion for Boo; she didn't like pieces of it in her food)
2/3 cup Arborio rice, uncooked
2/3 cup barley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups warm chicken stock (keep over low heat on the stovetop)
1 pound ground veal or turkey (we used 1/3 this amount for Boo, but she wished she had all this meat!)
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (a few good handfuls)
A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Preheat a deep, sloped skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), garlic, and onions. Cook for two to three minutes, add the rice and barley, season with salt and pepper, then cook for two to three minutes more.

Add the wine and cook away, one minute. Add a few ladles of the warm stock, just to cover the rice and barley, then drop the ground meat in small bits. Wash up.

Stir frequently and continue to ladle in stock until the meat is cooked, the rice and barley are cooked al dente, and the risotto is very starchy, about 22 minutes total cooking time.

Stir in the cheese, adjust the pepper, and serve with the chopped parsley.

Makes 4 servings

NOW TRY THESE VARIATIONS:

SCOTCH AND WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO
Makes 4 servings

"John, my sweetie, loves my wild mushroom risotto, which I used to make with a little brandy in it. John loves Johnny Walker like a brother, so I make his risotto with Scotch - more than a little, too. (Sadly for him, the alcohol cooks off. However, the smoky flavor left behind is great with the earthy mushrooms. To the wise: The better the Scotch, the deeper the effect.)"

OMIT:
Meat
Barley

SWAP:
3 jiggers (just over 1/3 cup) really good Scotch for the wine
Beef stock for the chicken stock

ADD:
1/3 cup additional Arborio rice
2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
1 portobello mushroom cap, finely chopped
16 shiitake mushroom caps, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (from 5 to 6 sprigs)

Steep the dried porcini mushrooms in the warm beef stock to reconstitute.

Saute the garlic, onions, and portobello and shiitake mushrooms in 2 tablespoons EVOO over medium-high heat until the mushrooms darken, then season with salt and pepper. Add the rice and cook for another minute or two.

Add and cook off the Scotch, then cook the risotto just as for the master recipe (Boo-soto). When all is added, the beef stock, remove the tender porcini mushrooms, coarsely chop the porcini mushrooms, and stir into the risotto. Stir in the cheese, thyme, and parsley and serve.

LEMON AND ARTICHOKE RISOTTO WITH SHRIMP
Makes 4 servings

OMIT:
Barley

SWAP:
1 pound small peeled, deveined shrimp for the ground veal or turkey

ADD:
1/3 cup additional Arborio rice (1 1/3 cups total)
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 (15 ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained well and chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
1 cup frozen green peas

Cook as for the master recipe (Boo-Soto), adding the shrimp a little later than you would the meat - wait until you add the third dose of liquids to your risotto, about 15 minutes into the cooking process. Stir in the lemon zest, artichokes, and rosemary with the shrimp. Add the peas in the last minute or two.

Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats - A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners by Rachael Ray