Simple Faux Risotto is Easy, Fast and Delicious

This Fake Risotto Tastes Great and is Made From Common Ingredients

Mar 7, 2009 Christopher T. Reilly

Many people do not think of rice as an Italian food. In fact, Italy is the largest producer of rice in Europe and is prepared as the dish we know and love, risotto.

Most Italian rice is grown in the Po Valley where rice is so plentiful that risotto is more common than pasta. It's a great way to utilize seasonal foods, from meat and game to wild mushrooms and seafood. If you have ever tasted a expertly cooked risi, or risotto, you get an idea of the seriousness with which Italians treat their rice. Rice is popular throughout Italy and there are many dishes utilizing all the types of rice grown there.

No one knows exactly when rice was introduced into Italy, but most people agree that it was likely the 14th Century during the Middle Ages. Rice was most likely introduced by Venetian or Genoese merchants during trade with the east, but documentation of rice cultivation dates back to 1475, probably many years after rice crops had actually been established.

Large amounts of water are used to flood fields of rice providing perfect conditions for malaria, which was common throughout Europe and Italy itself and may have delayed implementation of rice crops. Whatever the effect, the early crops must have been impressive for the farmer's to ignore the danger. Rice quickly became a major food source in the Po Valley

Risotto Legend

The amusing story goes back to the year 1574, when Risotto alla Milanese (with saffron) was created. During the building of the magnificent Gothic cathedral, the Duomo di Milano, the staining of the decorated glass for the windows fell to a young apprentice named Valerius. He was mercilessly teased because it appeared as though he had added saffron to obtain a more brilliant color in the pigments.

Weary of the teasing, he snuck into the kitchen at his master's wedding and added saffron to the rice. So delicious was the rice that it immediately became a success and spread across Italy, becoming the popular dish we love today.

Preparing Risotto

Expertly prepared risotto, creamy and delicious, is carefully made. The rice is braised enabling it to absorb the cooking broth, giving it a consistency similar to a sauce made of heavy cream. Making risotto is full of tradition, starting with toasting the rice in a soffrito (chopped vegetables like onion, carrots, celery, and garlic) before ladling in the broth very slowly.

Arborio rice is the standard rice for making risotto due to it's high starch content, which makes the risotto creamier. But Arborio rice is not always available. Similarly, cooking risotto can be time consuming, and time is not always easily taken. By all means, make the traditional risotto if the ingredients are on hand and prep time is not a factor. The following recipe in not meant to be a traditional risotto, but rather a substitution, an option, which is simple, fast, made from common ingredients, and thankfully, quite delicious.

Simple Faux Risotto

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice
1 can chopped tomatoes with juice, undrained and smashed.
1 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Combine first 6 ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil, stirring often.
Cover and simmer, about 20 minutes, until rice is tender.
Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted and incorporated throughout.
Serve immediately.

Serves 4

“Rice is the best, the most nutritive and unquestionably the most widespread staple in the world." - Escoffier

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