Risotto soup

So, still on that chicken that I poached. Risotto is a usual second stop. Lovely, velvety, just-short-of-stodgy risotto. Good stuff. 

Try to have some left over. The highest, most famous use for leftover risotto are arancine, those deep fried balls of craziness. 

Are they delicious? Yes. Are they something you want to make yourself? No. Fried foods are only really great when cooked by somebody else, somewhere other than your home. So arancini are out, because, anyway, you need tons of leftovers to make a reasonable amount. You´re going to all that trouble, you want something to show for it.

Consider, instead, risotto soup. Just bear with me here. I know it´s going to sound like the dullest, most bland concoction you can think of, but wait. You only need a couple of scoops of risotto to simmer in some broth, or water, even, for a few minutes. The rice collapses a bit more, becomes almost mushy, the broth cloudy, and the whole thing moves away from Italy and towards Asia. It´s almost congee, and as such, comfort food personified. Add little bit of parmesan, or a beaten egg stirred in to make a sort of straciatella, or even a bit of soy sauce. 

You have yourself a bowl of heaven.

The drawing has nothing to do with the soup. I like to have a jug of flowers in the kitchen, and now that my kids are happy to spend many consecutive minutes at the kitchen table, drawing, I get to do the same, and sketch the flowers, many times.