One Pot Wednesday: Pasta Risotto

This week's recipe comes from another one of my fav blogs. Dorie Greenspan calls this dish a pasta risotto, but even she admits that this isn't really a risotto--no need to stand at the stove for 20+ minutes stirring, stirring, stirring to achieve this distinctive "creaminess" of risotto. I of course, played with the recipe a little....added some green veggies (asparagus and spinach in this case since I had it left over from the pasta on Monday night).

As with most of the recipes for One Pot Wednesday, this is another easy one--pretty much stir fry some chopped onions, add broth, add pasta, boil, add cream and cheese, eat :) .....As I said before, this isn't really a risotto, its more of a cheesey pasta. In addition to the addition of the veggies, I replaced the marscapone cheese with an equal amount of creme fraiche that I already had (you can also replace it with 1/2 cream cheese + 1/2 whipping cream).....I also used Ditalani pasta, cuz they had them at the store, but any small pasta will do....

The variations of this are endless: bacon and leeks, mushrooms, chicken, beef....so many options....it will seem like new each time you try it.....so enjoy and stay consumed!

 Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3¾ cups chicken broth (or 3¾ cups water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
1 1/3 cups tubetti (my preference) or elbow macaroni (traditional)
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
3½ tablespoons mascarpone


Directions: 

1. Melt butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. 
2. Toss in onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
3.  Pour in chicken broth or water and bring to a boil; if you're using bouillon cubes, drop them in now and stir to dissolve. 
4. Add pasta, stir it around, and let it cook at a steady simmer until it has absorbed almost all the broth, 20 to 25 minutes. (There should be just ¼ inch or less of liquid bubbling at the bottom of the pan.)
5. Pour in cream and allow it to simmer for about 3 minutes, until it thickens slightly. 
6. Stir in Parmesan and mascarpone, cook for 1 minute, and taste for salt and pepper (it should be generously peppered). 
7. Pull the pan from the heat, cover, and let rest for 3 minutes before serving.