Pasta "Risotto"

I served this as a side dish with some fish, and it turned out to be the star of the meal. My crew doesn't especially care for real risotto, but this was popular. I happened to have some tiny pasta lying around, so I used that, which gave me a much shorter cooking time. But I bet this would be good with small elbow macaroni as written.

This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table; since she suggests playing with her recipes, I added the wine and the peas. Cooked bacon and/or mushrooms are other suggested additions that I bet would be great.

Dressy Pasta "Risotto"

2 T. butter

1 small onion, chopped

Salt and pepper

1-1/3 c. elbow macaroni

1/4 c. white wine

3-1/2 c. chicken (or vegetable) broth

1/2 c. cream

1 c. frozen baby peas

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

3-4 T. mascarpone (I think cream cheese or something similar would work here--about 2 oz.)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, salt and pepper it, and sauté it until translucent and just starting to turn color. Add the macaroni and white wine and stir; let the wine boil down to almost nothing. Then add the chicken broth, stir that, and let it cook uncovered at a steady simmer until the broth is almost absorbed (there will still be a bit of liquid at the bottom of the pan): this should take 20-25 minutes. Add the cream and the peas and cook for 3-5 minutes until some of the cream has been absorbed as well. Gently stir in the Parmesan and mascarpone and cook for another minute. Take off the heat, cover, and let sit for 3 minutes (I forgot to do this, and mine turned out fine...). Serve and enjoy.