RISOTTO AL FORNO

RISOTTO AL FORNO image

Yield Makes 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

Ingredients for making Risotto:
2 cups of Arborio rice
1 small Vidalia onion
dash of salt
5 cups of chicken broth
4 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
Ingredients for making Sauce:
4 28 oz. containers of crushed tomatoes
4 cloves of crushed garlic
6 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon of salt
2 leaves of basil
Final Ingredient for Risotto al Forno:
4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps:

Directions: 1) The heart of this dish is the tomato sauce so we begin with a heated large saucepot with a medium flame. Open your containers of crushed tomatoes before you continue. Pour in the virgin olive oil into the heated saucepot and sprinkle a dash of salt. Crush the garlic with the side of your chopping knife and add to heated oil (do not mince or dice the garlic; leave as larger pieces). Make sure you avoid browning the garlic by stirring constantly. Add the 4 containers of crushed tomatoes and stir. Stir occasionally and when the sauce begins to first boil, lower to simmer and add the salt and basil leaves. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes stirring often. 2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Next comes the risotto. In a large covered pan, sauté the chopped onion in heated pan and olive oil using medium flame. Add the salt to the onion. Sauté until onions are softened and glistening. Add the rice and chicken broth. Stir well and turn heat to simmer. Rice is done when water is absorbed, usually 25 minutes. 3) On your counter, place a deep casserole baking dish so you can mix all the final ingredients with ease. Add the cooked risotto sauce until well blended and well coated in red sauce. Reserve some sauce for the top layer. And now the crowning ingredient: our shredded mozzarella cheese! Stir in 3 cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese until evenly distributed. Flatten the mixture to a smooth top. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese as a top layer. Ladle tomato sauce sparingly as your last layer. Bake in oven for 40 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. And then serve in squares using a spatula. Enjoy!