Primavera Risotto Nests with Fried Eggs

This recipe is (slightly adapted) from Bon Appetit, a food magazine that I have a subscription to (thanks Carolyn). It has really yummy recipes with fancy names, like this one. Almost so fancy that I feel it will taste exotic. This recipe surprised me by how great the flavors blended together and how it didn't taste super exotic or foreign, just wonderful. I was also starving by the time I ate it so that may have helped by how wonderful it was. The rice mixture would have been really good alone, but honestly adding the fried egg on top is what made this recipe so so good!

One thing that may keep me from making it often is the time it took. It takes a lot of stirring by the oven so you need to have all of the ingredients prepped beforehand so you can just dump them in when it calls for them. I'm thinking that I could just cook the arborio rice in the rice cooker with the other ingredients and it might come out the same. I'll have to try it; that would cut down on the time significantly. But seriously, you need to try this recipe when you have a day where you just want to cook something different and yummy!

Primavera Risotto Nests with Fried Eggs

Ingredients:

4 T. (1/2 stick) butter, divided

2 c. chopped button mushrooms (I omitted these, I'm not a fan.)

3/4 c. chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 c. arborio rice

3 1/2 c. vegetable broth, divided (it originally called for 1/2 c. dry white wine, but since we don't drink alcohol I used all broth. I also used chicken instead of vegetable broth.)

3/4 c. 1/3-inch cubes carrots

2 c. diced trimmed asparagus

3 c. (or more) of water

1 c. Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

1/2 c. shelled fresh peas or thawed frozen peas

1/4 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 T. olive oil plus additional for drizzling (we didn't drizzle but it might be good)

4 large eggs

Melt 1 T butter in med. skillet over med./high heat. Ad mushrooms; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Melt 3 T butter in large pot over med./high heat. Add onion; sauté until beginning to soften. 5 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add rice and stir until translucent at edges, 5 minutes. Add 1/2 c. broth. Stir until liquid is absorbed, 1 minute. Add 1 c. broth. Simmer until broth is absorbed, stirring often, 3-4 minutes. Add carrots, asparagus, and 1 c. broth. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, 5-6 minutes. continue to add remaining broth, then water, 1 c. at a time, until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, stirring often and letting almost all liquid be absorbed after each addition, about 25 minutes total.

Stir 1 c. cheese, peas, parsley, and mushrooms into risotto. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 T. oil in large skillet over med./high heat. Cook eggs, without turning, until whites are cooked through and yolks are cooked to desired doneness.

Put rice on plate and use a spoon to make hollow in top of each mound. Top each with egg; drizzle with oil. Serve with additional cheese if desired.

-Now I was fooled by the proportions because it says that this was 4 servings. For us, this was probably double that. It made a lot of food. Also, we both wanted two eggs per dish so keep that in mind too. Oh, but this dish was so good! Let me know if you try it!