Comfort food season is still in full swing. And this french onion baked risotto has all the right vibes.
I love risotto and I never really make it very often. It’s not hard- Rachel Ray taught me that in her 30-minute meals era (when I was in my grad school era) but, if made right, it does take a solid 22 minutes standing over the stove in an active cooking situation. Some days, I’m way too lazy for that.
In paging through my cookbooks, I found an oven baked risotto recipe from Homemade Winter which did not entail standing in front of the stove for 22 minutes lading warm broth into a skillet – and my weeknight lazy self could definitely get on board with that.
And you know one way to take comfort food to the next level? Make it French onion.
See here.
But you know what else entails standing over a stove for a long time? Caramelizing onions. Therefore, I let the slow-cooker take over for me on this one.
You can caramelize onions in the slow cooker! Here’s how.
To the pot of a slow cooker, add butter, thyme and a whole lotta onions. Set it on high and let it rock for 4 hours. Take the lid off and let it go for another 2-3 until all the liquid is gone. What you’ve got left are some gloriously golden sweet onions.
What ingredients do I need for French onion baked risotto?
- arborio rice: see below
- chicken stock or broth, because stock>broth>water
- wine for flava
- sweet onions
- thyme
- butter makes it all better
- Gruyere, or some other hard Swiss cheese.
- breadcrumbs & oil, for crunch. I used Panko crumbs here.
Wait, what is Arborio rice?
Arborio rice is a special kind of Italian short-grain rice. It’s a little rounder, creamier and chewier than regular rice due to the additional starch content. In a dish like this, it does make a difference.
Once the onions are cooked, the rest comes together in less than 5 minutes. Throw it in the over, forget about it until your nose knows when it’s done.
French Onion Baked Risotto
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
- 1 cast iron skillet or other oven-safe pan
Ingredients
- 2 sweet onions, sliced (about 4-5 cups)
- 1 TB unsalted butter
- ½ TB dried thyme
- ½ TB salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 TB olive oil divided
- ½ cup Arborio rice
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 cup low sodium chicken stock or broth
- 1 ½ cups Gruyere cheese, grated
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- To the bowl of a slow cooker, add the butter, onions, thyme, salt and pepper. Let cook on high for 4 hours, uncover and then cook an additional 2-3 hours until all the liquid has evaporated.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Once the onions are done, to a small (approx 6") cast iron skillet or other oven safe pan over med-high heat, add 1/2 TB oil and rice. Let cook about 2 minutes. Add the wine and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the onions and cheese. Cover with a lid or foil.
- Bake approximately 25 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- While the risotto is baking, to a small pan over medium heat, add the remaining oil and breadcrumbs. Toast, stirring occasionally until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
- Once the risotto is done, cover with the breadcrumbs and serve immediately.