When we went grocery shopping last weekend a new box of arborio rice was on my list because I had great plans to make Nigella Lawson's Cheddar Cheese Risotto (I expect to post that within the next week). On Monday after work I broke out my new box of arborio rice but settled on a concoction that involved no cheddar cheese or chives and, instead, was studded with delicious bits of sun dried tomatoes and cubes of melty fresh mozzarella cheese.
Risotto gets a bad rap for its perceived labor intensiveness. Sure, you can't put it on the stove or in the oven with a lid on it and expect it to come out properly, but the "stir constantly" part of the recipe, though necessary to release the starch that creates its creamy texture, is really not that taxing. For one, risotto is wet so if one stirs somewhat less frequently than constantly it's not going to scorch or stick right away. For another, risotto isn't dense or heavy so it doesn't take a lot of effort to stir. Many recipes that want you to stir something constantly want you to do so to avoid a burnt product or to turn unmanageable dough into manageable dough. Risotto isn't that high maintenance and the creamy (without cream in many instances) results are worth it.
