Risotto

Popular in the Italian kitchen for eons, risotto and wild mushrooms were embraced in the nineties by American home cooks and restaurant chefs alike. Offer this delicious version as a starter or a main course.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Here’s a quick and satisfying starter.

Portobello and button mushrooms, along with herbs and garlic, enhance a creamy dish-which has no cream.

A radicchio and fennel salad with red wine vinaigrette adds color and crunch, and warm focaccia rounds out the entrée. End the meal with poached pears and biscotti.

Here's a delicious recipe from chef Edwin Goto at The Lodge at Koele on the island of Lanai in Hawaii. In an homage to spring, the rich-tasting risotto is served on a bed of oven-roasted asparagus.

Making risotto is often thought to be an ordeal of stirring, but it really only takes about 20 minutes. In actuality, it's an easy dish, especially when it's the main course.

This is a delicious, low-maintenance alternative to traditional risotto.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This gets its distinctive pink color from the addition of red wine and radicchio.

If you like, sauté some wild mushrooms and stir them into the finished risotto. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

In this recipe from Rick Tramonto, chef at Tru in Chicago, chewy pearl barley meets silky European butter in an outstanding alternative to arborio rice risotto. For best results, use Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Israeli couscous, sometimes known as pearl pasta, is available at Middle Eastern markets. You could also order it from Joan's on Third in Los Angeles; 323-655-2285.

"I visit Portland, Oregon, frequently because my son is in college there. Of the restaurants we've tried, Bread and Ink Cafe is one of the best," says Shelly Pearlman of Fairfax, California. "It's located in a funky part of town not far from the school. The squash and leek risotto I had for lunch was superb." Some shaved Parmesan and fresh sage leaves would make an attractive garnish.

Risotto, by definition, is made with rice. But other grains—like the barley in this main-course recipe—can be prepared in the same style with equally terrific results. Toasting the barley enhances its nutty flavor and keeps it from getting soft and mushy.