A twist on classic risotto. Doesn't taste too red winey.

From http://www.newitalianrecipes.com/red-wine-risotto.html. Makes 3-4 side dish servings.

Ingredients:
About 3 cups of chicken broth. (Amount needed to finish the red wine risotto will vary, so have a couple of extra cups at the ready, just in case.)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1.5 T minced shallots (or onions)
1/2 cup Italian Arborio rice
1/3 cup good quality red wine
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
0.5 cup sliced mushrooms
5 fresh basil leaves
0.5 Sprig fresh thyme
1.5 T real butter or yogurt butter
1 T grated Romano cheese
1/8 cup chopped Italian parsley for garnish

Preparation
This takes about 1/2 hour of cooking time.

In a large stock pot, heat the stock and herbs. Keep simmering throughout preparation of the dish. Next, over medium heat in a large, non-stick or cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil.

Add shallots or onions. Stir to coat for 1-2 minutes.

Add Arborio rice. Stir to coat rice really well, but do not brown. (The purpose in coating the rice with olive oil is to help control the absorption of the cooking stock) If the onions seem to have used up most of the oil, add more. The Arborio HAS to be coated, or your red wine risotto won't be as good as it can be.

Once coated, add the red wine and balsamic vinegar, and allow most of it to be absorbed. The rice will be red, but don't fret, it's supposed to be. It adds to the charm of the dish.

Add the mushrooms, stir in briefly, but do not allow the pan to completely dry up.

Add enough stock with a stock spoon to cover the rice completely and lower the heat to low. As the liquid level drops below the rice slightly, add back enough stock to re-cover. Stir the rice occasionally so that it does not stick and so it cooks evenly. This is low heat cooking, so don't try and rush it. It's okay if you get some or all of the basil from the simmering stock in the dish, but since the thyme is on its sprig, don't let this get into the risotto itself, just the flavor.

Continue this process for about 20 more minutes. Taste the rice at this point to see if it is almost tender. If so, allow the present liquid level to drop until about 90 per cent absorbed. Stir in the butter and Romano cheese vigorously, then turn off the heat. The butter and cheese will provide that elegant "creaminess" that good risotto is noted for.

Garnish your red wine risotto with fresh Italian Parsley and parmigiano-reggianno.