Recipe Contest, Rice/pasta: Almond risotto

I posted this on the herb risotto thread, I'll make it a seperate entry instead.

Almond risotto

1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary (2" long)

2/3 to 3/4 C almond meal (I process almonds in a little coffee grinder)

olive oil: more than a 1/2 C
One small onion: chopped
2-3 garlic cloves: minced
1 C Arborio rice
3 C Vegetable broth (I use boullion cubes which have salt in them. If you use an unsalted type, add salt to the oil and bay leaf in step one). Keep this broth warm.


Heat (low-medium) olive oil with bay leaf in a high-sided, heavy-weight, large pan. Add chopped onion to hot oil and let sizzle to a pale or translucent nature and then add the garlic. Don't let the garlic brown. Add uncooked rice to pan and sautee for a minute. Stir the drying mix often. Add almond meal and mix for a minute. The rice should start to sound different - like beads against the metal of the pan.

Add 1/3 of the broth (a cup in this recipe). Stir the rice until the liquid is fully absorbed. Add the next cup and repeat, and repeat again with the last of the broth, but don't let it all soak up. Ideally, you want the cooked rice to ooze on the plate, rather than stand in a heap.

Serves 3 as a main dish.


*** I don't add wine to my risotto or cheese. Were you to add wine: add a cup of dry white wine before the first cup of broth. If you were to add cheese, mix in a large handlful of shredded pecorino romano after the last cup of broth is nearly absorbed