W4DW: @#$% Risotto!
Hell’s Kitchen is one of my favorite shows. My wife and I watch it religiously, along with Kitchen Nightmares, so it may be more accurate to say that we are Gordon Ramsay fans.
In watching Hell’s Kitchen, it is inevitable that you will hear Ramsay tearing one of the contestants a new asshole for not cooking the risotto properly; it’s either under- or over-cooked, or it’s too salty or bland. The one and only time I was somewhere that served risotto was at a hotel outside of Dublin, Ireland, and what was served was incredibly bland and resembled watery oatmeal. Needless to say, I was not impressed.
I started to wonder: how hard can it be to make risotto? I chanced across a recipe by Ramsay for Mushroom and Tomato Risotto, and decided to give it a shot.
Turns out, it isn’t that hard, it’s just time consuming and requires some attention. There really is no way to make this receipe without taking about a half hour dedicated to cooking it; there is a fair amount of layering of flavors and slowly adding ingredients to not overwhelm the consistency. The end result, though, is very tasty and worth it. I gave some to my father-in-law, and he thoroughly enjoyed it, so I have independent confirmation on this.
