Lazy Grad Student Mock Risotto

I've been itching to make a risotto for a while now. Why? Because I've never made one. I've never even tasted one. But it sounded so rich and creamy, and I love pasta, and, well, I like a challenge. Making soufflés-- another dish supposed to be the test of one's culinary skills-- turned out to be relatively easy for me. I wanted to take on the risotto, too.

But, having recently struck out on my own, about to start grad school, and being, erm, between jobs, I can't afford most of the key ingredients-- the multiple cups of white wine, the special Arborio rice-- and for that matter, I'm a whole-grains girl. I avoid white rice if I possibly can, especially in my own cooking. I investigated some brown rice risottos, but realized I would need the patience for the extra cooking time a brown rice risotto would require; it takes twice as long as white rice. I do enjoy cooking, but not enough to spend an hour or more stirring a pot constantly.

And that's when I found this recipe off the Paupered Chef blog for "risotto-style pasta". This, I felt, just might work. Whole wheat pasta only takes a few minutes longer to cook than white. The recipe already called for chicken stock rather than white wine (an excellent substitute in most recipes). It wouldn't exactly be a risotto but it would have that same creamy texture. And it would cook in a much more reasonable amount of time.

The original recipe, evidently designed for the food-lover with a steady job, called for "artisanal strozzapreti pasta". Even if I could afford to go out of my way to buy a special pasta for this dish, I wouldn't know strozzapreti pasta from...from...from another fancy kind of not-so-paupered-chef's pasta. The pictures of the cooking process showed flat, long, wide strands of pasta, so I decided the linguine I had in the pantry was a close enough match. Just before cooking, I decided to break up my linguine to ensure that it cooked evenly and to make it a bit more like risotto in appearance and texture.

Since this is the grad student version of the recipe, amounts have been reduced to two servings: one for dinner and one for lunch the next day. Feel free to substitute ingredients based on the contents of your pantry: this is the grad student version, after all. I was lucky enough to make a trip to Haymarket before preparing this recipe, but we can't all buy fresh produce in bulk for ridiculously low prices.

Lazy Grad Student Mock Risotto

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 small onion or 1 small shallot, minced
3-4 baby yukon potatoes, peeled and diced small
1 1/4 cups chicken stock, or more if necessary
4 oz linguine, broken up into small pieces
black pepper, to taste
1/2 small tomato, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 branches fresh basil (I couldn't justify buying fresh basil for this one recipe, so I used dried Italian seasoning; however, if you have access to fresh basil I strongly recommend it)
1-2 scallions, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces (optional)
4-5 stalks asparagus, ends removed, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Note: Even mock risotto needs your constant attention, so be sure to prepare all ingredients fully before proceeding to the directions below. Trust me.

Warm stock in saucepan. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and butter in a wide, deep skillet.

When the butter begins to foam, add the potatoes and onions. Sauté until golden.

Add the pasta and toss until it is evenly coated with oil. Add in a little stock, the tomatoes, and the garlic.

Cook and stir constantly over low heat as for a risotto, adding more stock as it evaporates from the skillet, continuing until pasta is fully and evenly cooked. Add scallions after first round of stock; add asparagus near the end-- it only needs a few minutes to cook.

When pasta is al dente, remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and herbs. Top with pepper as desired.

Enjoy your plate of creamy delicious heaven-on-a-plate. It may not have the prestige of being a true risotto, but your tastebuds will not know the difference. And the potatoes-- which I've never seen in a risotto recipe-- add a nice thick richness to the texture.