caramelized onion risotto with rosemary and gorgonzola

Ugh. It's so hard to make risotto look appetizing. Bright colors? Good lighting? A variety of brightly colored herby garnish? Sorry, still looks gross.

Risotto is one of my favorite cold weather dishes to cook because it's endlessly adaptable, it cooks up on the stove in a half hour and it's just comforting. Yesterday, after trudging around all day in what was predicted to be "up to an inch of snow" but actually turned out to be five inches, dropping my gloves in a public toilet (why????), and neglectfully forgetting to wear snow boots, this risotto was the only thing that could make everything better.

However, blogging about said risotto is another matter entirely. This is why I typically keep risotto to myself. But, well, that's just selfish. So I'm here today offering you a fabulous risotto recipe and some mildly adequate pictures of it.

You win some, you lose some, amiright?

But here's the important thing about this risotto. It has a holy trinity of deliciousness. I'm talking caramelized onions. And gorgonzola. AND my main herb, rosemary. It's not a recipe for good breath. But who cares? It's winter. It's snowy. And I want some dang carbs heaped up in a bowl of deliciousness. Perhaps alongside some of these perfectly crusty and ridiculously easy crusty chicken thighs. Or perhaps just straight from the pot to my mouth because who has time for chicken when there is risotto???

caramelized onion risotto with rosemary and gorgonzola

ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large or 3 medium yellow onions
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 clove garlic, minced
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, warmed
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

directions:
Heat the butter and oil in a large nonstick sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Add rice and sauté until well coated with oil, about one minute. Add the garlic and sauté one minute longer.

Add 1/2 cup stock and stir continually until almost absorbed. Repeat until all broth is incorporated, cooking and stirring until the rice is “al dente," approximately 30 minutes. Keep a close eye on the risotto throughout this process and stir frequently.

Add rosemary, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, add the crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Stir just enough to incorporate, leaving larger pieces of cheese intact throughout the risotto. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 to 8 as a side dish, 3-4 as a main dish

Source: Sprinkles & Champagne original