Risotto!

Risotto is the ultimate comfort food...creamy goodness without the guilt!  There is no cream in the sauce and only a little cheese is added at the end to finish off the dish.  Also, this "May gray" is pretty ideal for a big bowl of creamy goodness. I'd shied away from it for a long time because I'd heard that you have to continuously stir the rice and not take your eyes off the pan for 1 second or else it will be ruined.   While you cannot walk away from it like you can a casserole in the oven, it's not quite that high-maintenance.

What I like about risotto is that you can make it a true one-dish meal, with or without meat, and pretty much use whatever strikes your fancy (except maybe tomatoes?).  And it doesn't take a ton of time. The original recipe, from delish.com, used mushrooms and chicken, so I just subsituted leeks and bacon, in equal quantities.  But throw in whatever you feel like...squash risotto is also excellent.  So guess what you'll be getting when squash season rolls around again?

Serves 4

2/3 lb. bacon, cut-up
1/2 leeks, thinly sliced
5 1/2 c chicken broth (more or less)
pepper, to taste
1 1/2 c arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
1/2 c Parmesan cheese (or any Italian hard cheese, shredded)

Cook bacon in a large skillet till just browned.  If your bacon gave off a ton of fat, drain some of the drippings but leave a good couple-three tablespoons.  Throw in the leeks, and stir around till just soft.  Add some pepper.  Remove bacon and leeks.  Add the rice and stir about 2 minutes till opaque.  Add the white wine and stir till absorbed, scraping up the bits of bacon and leek on the bottom of the pan (yum!!!).  This should take about 5 minutes.  Add the stock to the rice about 1/2 a cup at a time.  Stir frequently after each addition till all the stock is absorbed.  You want to keep the flame at a level so the broth/rice mix is at a simmer.  I stir when I initially add the stock, and then give the spoon a whirl around the skillet every couple minutes or so.  You don't want the rice to stick to the pan!  Keep adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after every addition, till all the stock is absorbed, the rice is tender, and the risotto is thick and creamy.  You may not use all of the stock or you may need more...in which case just add water.  After the risotto is tender, return the bacon and leeks to the pan, stir, and heat through with the cheese.  You can also add some frozen peas at this point and heat those through as well.

You can also use veggie stock, though I haven't tried this, depends on what you're making and who you're cooking it for.  Also, I'm no wine snob, and used sauvignon blanc.  If this is not a dry white wine...oops!  I liked how it cooked up with chicken and mushroom risotto, so I'm sticking with it.  I have not tried not using the wine, but you do need something to deglaze the pan initially.  Since the alcohol burns off, if you use something nonalcoholic in place of the wine I'd only use half the amount called for in the recipe.  Also, between the bacon, broth and cheese at the end you don't need to add any extra salt, but if you use low-sodium broth you might feel it needs a little extra.    When I make risotto with mushrooms I do add a pinch of salt after the mushrooms have been browned.

This is the basic risotto "formula" for making it as a main dish.  If you use an ingredient that does not give off fat like bacon does, you'll need to add some to the pan.  The orignal recipe called for cooking the mushrooms and chicken in 2 tbsp. butter,  adding another tablespoon of oil after you remove them, and then sauteeing 1/2 cup chopped onions in the oil.  Since I'm using leeks I omitted the onions and the extra oil.  Even if you don't care for onions I recommend you use some onions (or anything onion-like such as leeks) as they really give the risotto good flavor.  You can't really taste them as they cook for so long they turn sweet.