My favorite thing about cooking is that you can make it your own. You can do this with baking too, but baking tends to be more precise because the ingredients need to work together to make a chemical reaction. With cooking you have a little more room to be creative and adjust meals to make them fit your palate.

One meal that I recreate all the time is risotto. Risotto simply means cooked rice. Arborio rice is the traditional rice used in risotto, and I find that it works perfectly. Don’t be discouraged by the fact that risotto is simply a rice dish. The arborio rice makes the final product much creamier than a typical side of rice, and its versatility makes it a complete meal.

So how is it made? Risotto is made by gradually adding liquid or broth. It should be cooked slowly and stirred constantly. Risotto can seem a bit time-consuming, but I find the process very relaxing. I also love that it gives you space to be creative. I usually make risotto with chicken broth, but you can make it with the flavors that are appealing to you. You could use vegetable broth if you’re a vegetarian, or wine if you want something more elegant. I love risotto because you can make it twice and end up with two completely different meals.

On that note, I hope you take the time to make risotto, especially if you haven’t before. It’s very simple, and will leave you with a comforting dish for the winter months. Be creative and find flavors that are appealing to you. There are endless possibilities of vegetables, meat, or seafood that can be added to create a wonderful meal. Below is one of my favorite versions of risotto. It is a good base to start with if you haven’t made it before, but feel free to branch away from this and try something new! I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Standard Risotto

Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 small onion diced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Directions:
Heat up chicken broth in small pot.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
Melt butter and olive oil together. Add onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it is translucent.
Add rice and toast 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 ladel full of broth to rice mixture while continuously stirring.
Continue to stir until rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Continue this process until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (about 20-25 minutes.)
If you want to add frozen peas, do this now and allow them to heat up for 1 minute. Serve and enjoy!

*1 cup of uncooked rice will yield roughly 3 cups of cooked rice.

If you want to make your dish with asparagus instead of peas, omit the peas and follow the recipe for roasted asparagus below.

Roasted Asparagus

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:
1/4-1/2 pound asparagus (depending on how much you want to make)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I like Kosher salt for this recipe, but any kind will do)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Toss asparagus, olive oil, salt, and pepper on a sheet pan. (If you put aluminum foil down, clean up will be a lot easier.) Roast in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until it is as tender as you like.

*Measurements for this recipe do not need to be exact, and asparagus will shrink slightly in oven.