Recipe - Risotto With Fennel

6 tablespoon Unsalted butter
One half cup Chopped sweet yellow onion
1 Fennel bulb (1 lb); trimmed
quartered, cored
and cut into 1/4in slices
One fourth teaspoon Salt
1 pn Nutmeg
preferably freshly grated
5 cup Light chicken stock; =OR=
2 One half cup Canned broth with
2 One half cup Water
1 One half cup Arborio rice
One fourth teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
One fourth cup Freshly grated Parmesan

IN A LARGE HEAVY SAUCEPAN OR flameproof casserole, melt 3 tablespoons of
the butter over low heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, but not
browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cut or sliced up fennel. Season with the salt
and nutmeg; mix well. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10
minutes. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer in another saucepan. After
10 minutes, add the rice to the fennel, stirring to coat each grain with
butter. Add 2 cups of the hot stock. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered,
stirring constantly, until the rice is just tender, adding more stock, 1/2
cup at a time as the rice absorbs the liquid, about 20 minutes. (If you run
out of stock before the rice is done, use hot water.) The finished dish
should be moist but not soupy. When the rice is tender but still firm,
remove from the heat and stir in the pepper, the remaining 3 tablespoons
butter and the grated Parmesan cheese. Season with additional salt to taste
and serve immediately in warm bowls.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini