Roasted Cauliflower Risotto

Risotto has always intimidated me. Perhaps it's because people talk it up about it being hard to get just the right consistency. Perhaps it's because it requires a lot of hands-on time. Perhaps it's because it's one of the dishes that trips up the chefs on Hell's Kitchen and earns (well, maybe not earns, but prompts) screaming episodes from Gordon Ramsay.

But I've gotta tell you . . . it's really not that hard. True, it requires a lot of focused attention with a lot of constant stirring. But constant stirring isn't actually hard, is it? And as far as consistency goes, that's not that challenging either. Because, since you're adding the broth bit by bit anyway, you can just start sampling it when you think you're getting close to being done. Still a little crunchy? Okay, add another scoop of broth and try again when that's almost absorbed.

I made this recipe for Roasted Cauliflower Risotto during my many days off during Thanksgiving, since I was looking for more time-consuming recipes to make then. I started off really excited about the recipe, but then I started to second-guess whether cauliflower and chickpeas were worth the honor of being the stars in my first-even risotto attempt. They were. Cauliflower tastes much better roasted than raw or steamed, and the chickpeas provided the perfect . . . I don't know . . . chickpeaness? And, for how rich and creamy this tasted, the nutrition stats are really not bad!

Now that I've conquered this recipe and have a nearly-full bin of arborio rice, I think I'll be making risotto quite a bit. Little-known-fact: in my head, I usually pronounce risotto like Gordon Ramsay--ris-AH-tto rather than ris-OH-tto. It sounds more fancy that way.

I followed the recipe exactly from A Couple Cooks. I think they do a great job of describing the process in a thorough but not overwhelming way, and I don't think I can improve on their ingredients or instructions at all, so I'll just encourage you to hop over to their site for the recipe.