Risoni and Three-Cheese ‘Risotto’

From Vegetarian Dinner in Minutes, Linda Gassenheimer, Chronicle Books, 1997.

An easy-to-make risotto without the constant attention sounded wonderful.

The recipe called for orzu but I used risoni instead, another grainy looking pasta. Four cups of vegetable stock were brought to the boil and a teaspoon saffron added. To this went in half a red onion chopped, 2 cups risoni and ¾ cup fetta crumbled. When all came back to the boil it was cooked for another 5 minutes.

While this was cooking I mixed ½ cup ricotta cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and ¼ cup milk together with a good pinch of cayenne pepper.

The risoni was now checked to see if it was cooked. It needed a little longer, but when it was done the ricotta mix was added. I gave it a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper and a little salt.

While not the best risotto I have made it was not bad. The pasta has a totally different texture to that of rice so it did not really feel that I was eating a risotto. However it was a pleasantly creamy dish that was quite enjoyable.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔