Fabulous Fabris Risotto

This is "comfort food" at its best! Uncle Franco came from the North of Italy over 70 yrs. ago, and taking his momma's recipe for risotto, has created wonderful memories for the entire family. Adding ground beef or porcini mushrooms, shrimp or chicken has changed this from a side-dish to a main meal to please the whole family.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 4  cups chicken broth
• 1  whole soup chicken
• 1  onion
• 2  stalks celery
• 2  carrots
• 1  tablespoon salt

• For Risotto

• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 1⁄4 cup canola oil
• 1  onion (chopped)
• 1 (1 lb) package  italian arborio rice
• 1  tablespoon tomato paste
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄2 cup  light cream
• 1  tablespoon Italian parsley (chopped)
• 1  teaspoon salt
•  fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Fill saucepan with water to cover the chicken.
2. Add salt and vegetables and boil 3 hours.
3. Remove chicken, vegetables and strain liquid.
4. Reserve 4 cups for risotto.
5. In a large saucepan combine butter and oil and saute onion over medium heat.
6. Add rice and one cup of chicken broth, stirring to prevent rice from sticking.
7. When rice has completely absorbed the broth, add another cup of broth and tomato paste.
8. Repeat this method until the rice is completely cooked (time will vary) approximately 20 minutes.
9. The rice will have a translucent appearance and a creamy consistency.
10. Remove from heat; stir in light cream, nutmeg, cheese, parsley, pepper and salt to taste.
11. Serve immediately.
12. Note: you can substitute homemade chicken broth with canned.