#23. Risotto with Zucchini and Ricotta

This was a delicious recipe, and although it took a bit more time and work than most of the other dishes I've cooked, it was loads of fun to make, although that could have had something to do with the fact that during the two hours it took to prepare this risotto, I kept sipping on the extra white wine (the recipe only calls for 1/2 cup--mysteriously, I ended up with only half a bottle). 

The ingredients totaled about $20, but fed me well for four meals. Here are they are (I lucked into the fancy organic arborio rice when the grocery decided to put that entire brand on clearance. And yes, the recipe calls for a whole stick of butter and a whole bag of parmesan):

I'm not going to bother typing out the recipes anymore (since no one reads these posts). This one came from the Williams Sonoma book Easy Vegetarian, which I highly recommend, assuming you can find it. If you can't, ask me on twitter at @me_db.

Here's a picture from the 20-minute process of gradually adding more and more veggie stock to the wine-soaked rice (so much more fun if you're drinking wine and dancing to Magic Potion by the Black Keys):

(On the left you can see the precooked zucchini with mint and parsley. I recommend allowing the zucchini to cool before adding the herbs so that they don't end up tasting overcooked.)

Here it is in the bowl, looking very pretty if I do say so myself:

In fact, it looks incredibly similar to the serving pictured in the book:

The primary flavors are of rice, mint and cheese, with the sauteed zucchini giving the warm, gooey melange a pleasant crunch. I was almost reminded of a broccoli casserole... except fancy. I had plenty of leftovers, which were good reheated and eaten plain or with fancy unsalted tortilla chips (like gourmet nachos), or cold, served on a bed of baby spinach:

However you serve it, serve it with some of that good wine. I used Ecco Domani pinot grigio which you can get just about anywhere for around $10. Don't forget to chill it first!

A+ (even though it's fattening, expensive, and time-consuming)