Sage Risotto

By Matt Fisher
Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 28 ounces chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup finely chopped/sliced leek
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ¼ cup Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 1 cup (about 4 ounces) chopped fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• Ground nutmeg

Note: leeks tend to have sand embedded between the leaves. One way to remove the sand is to place the slices of leek in a large bowl filled with water. If all goes well, the sand will fall to the bottom of the bowl and you can scoop out the leek slices with a slotted spoon or spider. Swish them around a bit while they’re in the water to remove all the sand.

Preparation

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a small pan as you would for risotto. Keep warm over low heat.

Melt butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic, cook 3 minutes, stirring often.

Add rice and salt, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, about 2 minutes, stirring often.

Add warm broth, about ½ cup at a time, stirring often until each portion of the broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes). Taste the rice to make sure it’s firm but not crunchy. If it’s not done, add more broth.

Stir in chopped sage; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella (it will melt but still remain in warm pockets within the mixture). Sprinkle prosciutto on top and season with black pepper and a bit of nutmeg, if you wish.