Barbara Kafka's microwave recipe for risotto produces a perfect, creamy, al dente risotto with the ease of nuking a TV dinner. You will need to experiment with timing to get the recipe to work with your particular microwave oven and cookware. Here, the recipe is adapted for a relatively new Sharp R-305K that is advertised as 1100-watt but is actually 900 watts, according to my tests. I would try a batch or two, perhaps using water instead of stock so you don't feel so bad about throwing out a test batch, before exposing guests to it.
Serves 2 as a main course, 3 as a first course, 6 as a side dish
Start to finish: 35 minutes • Active work: 10 minutes • Oven time: 30 minutes
| Equipment | Comments |
|---|---|
| A cutting board | |
| A 10-inch chef's knife | |
| A microwave-proof 10-inch quiche or deep pie dish, 10-inch x 10-inch x 2-inch casserole, or 11-inch x 8-1/2-inch x 2-inch dish | |
| A wooden spoon | |
| Wax paper | |
| A grater for the cheese | |
| A tea kettle |
| Ingredients | Amount |
|---|---|
| A small onion | Enough for 1/4 cup (1 ounce or 30 grams), diced |
| Unsalted butter | 2  ablespoons (1 ounce or 28 grams)
|
| Olive oil | 2 ablespoons (1 ounce or 28 grams)
|
| Arborio rice | 1 cup (220 grams) |
| Chicken broth, vegetable broth, or meat broth | 3 cups (700 grams) |
| Kosher salt | about 2 teaspoons |
| Black peppercorns in a grinder | |
| Parmesan cheese for grating | 1 ounce or 30 grams |
-
Get out everything you need.
-
Onion: Chop it into a 1/8-inch dice, for for 1/4 cup (1 ounces or 30 grams).
-
Butter and olive oil: Measure 2 ablespoons of each into the microwave-proof dish. Put the dish into the microwave. Cook for 1 minute 15 seconds, until the butter is melted. Note: The dish remains uncovered during all stages of microwaving.
-
Onion: Stir it into the butter and olive oil. Put the dish back into the microwave and cook for 2 minutes.
Rice: Measure 1 cup (220 grams) of it into the mixture. Stir to coat all the grains with butter and oil. Put the dish back into the microwave and cook for 2 minutes 30 seconds.
Broth: Stir it into the mixture. Put the dish back into the microwave and cook for 7 minutes 30 seconds.
Mixture: Stir it well. Put the dish back into the microwave and cook once again for 7 minutes 30 seconds.
Parmesan: Tear off a square of wax paper. Grate 1 ounce (30 grams) of cheese onto it and set aside.
Water: Get a cup of it boiling in case you need to add it to the mixture.
Mixture: Taste to see if it has the right bite. If it isn't soft enough, cook a little longer, adding a little boiling water if scant liquid remains.
Mixture: Remove it from the microwave. There should be some liquid left in the dish. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes so the rice can absorb some of the liquid that remains.
Seaonings: Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Stir in grated parmesan.