Risotto with caramelized onions and gorgonzola

This was another recipe from The Italian Farmer's Table, also simple enough for a weekday. It is a rich risotto and very tasty. The trick is to caramelize red onions by taking 3 thinly sliced red onions and putting them into a skillet with 3 Tbl melted butter, coating them and letting soften over medium heat for 5 min. Then you add a pinch of salt, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 30 min., stirring occasionally. Then you raise the heat to medium high, add 1 c. ruby port and let the onions simmer for another 25 min. They reduce quite a bit in volume and the liquid completely evaporates.

During this last part, make the risotto. This recipe has you saute 1 finely "diced" medium yellow onion in 2 Tbl of butter in a 12-in. saute pan for 8 to 10 min., then add 2 c. arborio rice and cook for another 2 to 3 min. You then pour in 1/2 c. dry vermouth and let that evaporate before you start to add the 1 qu. chicken broth, ladle by ladle. I don't do risotto often enough and my technique still needs some work. The rice was cooked al dente but too dry; I needed to add more liquid to keep it creamy at the end.

To finish, you stir in 1 more Tbl butter, 1/4 c. parmesan and the caramelized onions. You serve and top with 4 oz. crumbled gorgonzola. It's a great dish if you like caramelized onions and risotto (and gorgonzola!) as much as we do.