Risotto with Pesto

In a heavy 4-qt saucepan, heat the butter or oil over medium heat, adding the onions with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Saute until the onions are soft and clear, about 3 min. Blend in the garlic and rice, and cook for 3 min, stirring often. Raise the heat to medium high. Stir in the wine, and cook until it's absorbed. Begin adding the broth, 1 c. at a time, simmering and stirring each addition until the liquid is absorbed by the rice before adding the next cup. NEVER cover the pot. Once you start adding the broth, the cooking time will be about 15 min. After cooking in about 2 1/2 c, start adding the broth in 1/2 c portions. Begin tasting the risotto. While the risotto is cooking, prep the pesto (if you are making your own). You can prepare the pesto in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor with the motor running. Start by pureeing the garlic and salt. Gradually add the basil and then the pine nuts, crushing or processing everything into a rough baste. Pour in the cheeses and the oil, and stir to blend. The pesto should be a rough paste. Set it aside. When the rice is ready, it should be close to tender, with a little more firmness to the bite than you'd like, and it should be nearly soupy (it will finish cooking and absorb a little more broth in the next step). Never cook the rice to a mush. Immediately remove the pot from the heat; let it stand for 3 minutes. Then fold in the pesto, sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts, and serve.

Variations: Spring: 2 c cooked sweet peas and 1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano Summer; 2-3 ripe summer tomatoes, chopped fine, and 1/2 c coarse-chopped pitted oil-cured black olives Fall: 20 sage leaves that have been fried in hot olive oil for a few seconds until crisp and then salted, plus 1 ripe pear, cored and cut into bite sized pieces Winter: 3 c roasted diced yam and thinly sliced Brussels sprouts

Comments: This recipe is from "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper" by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. The recipe looks fairly complicated, but it came together smoothly for me on my first try, and Bob really liked it. As in 3 servings - liked it! Since the risotto turned out to be fairly simple, I'm kind of excited to try the variations. For now, it is a great way to use my basil that is growing like crazy. Whew - the raw garlic may have been too strong in the pesto. The flavor was fantastic, but we are still feeling the aftereffects. Next time, I may try roasting or even poaching the garlic ahead of time, giving it time to cool, and then adding it to the pesto. I made a double batch of the pesto, and froze it in tiny cubes, so we'll see if the freezing helps to even out the bite.