Making risotto on the stove is laborious and time consuming. Luckily, it's a fraction of the work to make risotto in your rice cooker...no stirring required! This rice cooker recipe can be made entirely in your rice cooker, beginning with sauteeing the shallots over the heating element. I've used asparagus and watercress because they're in-season for the spring, but feel free to substitute equal amounts of whatever vegetable you please.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup shallots or onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 3/4 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 3 cups chicken stock or broth (24 ounces)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
- 3/4 cup roughly chopped watercress
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
Preparation:
- Set your rice cooker for the "Quick Cook" or "Regular" cycle, and preheat your oven to "Broil." When the bottom of the pan gets hot, add one tablespoon of butter and the olive oil and allow butter to melt. Add the shallots or onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add the wine, stir to combine, and cook until the wine heats and the alcohol evaporates, about 4 minutes. Add the rice, stir to coat evenly with the contents of the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the grains of rice are mostly translucent, and only a dot of white remains.
- Add the asparagus, stirring to combine, and saute for a minute or two.
- Add the stock all at once. Stir to combine. Close the cover and turn off the rice cooker, then reset for the "Porridge" cycle if you have a Fuzzy Logic rice cooker; or the "Regular" cycle if you have an on-off rice cooker. Set your timer for 20 minutes. Every 7 minutes or so, open the rice cooker and give the rice a stir to recombine the liquid into the rice.
- When the cycle shuts off or 20 minutes have elapsed, check your rice. A little liquid should remain, and rice should be "al dente," or slightly firm to the bite but not hard. If there is still a lot of liquid left but rice is done, you might need to carefully spoon out some of the liquid that's on top. If the rice is not yet done, give it a stir and cook for another few minutes, checking often.
- About 10 minutes before your rice is ready, prepare the salmon: Place fillets on a sheet pan covered with parchment and brush the top of each fillet generously with balsamic vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Cook in broiler for 10 minutes, or until fish is no longer translucent in the middle.
- When rice is cooked, add 1 tablespoon butter, parmesan cheese and watercress, stir to combine and melt cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Close lid to allow watercress to wilt, about 1 minute.
- To serve, spoon risotto into a shallow soup bowl, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and top with a salmon fillet.
Serves 4.
