Rainbow Risotto

Naturally colorful foods are inherently appealing to children and adults alike. When Izzy arrived home to find this bunch of rainbow carrots on the table he was drawn to them. He picked a different color to snack on, each day this week, starting with a purple one.

These carrots were not the only rainbow-colored foods to find their way into our vegetable drawer this week. We also had some rainbow chard from this week's CSA delivery. I had planned to use the chard as a side dish with some beans but decided we needed to celebrate the colors instead.

I made a Rainbow Chard and Carrot Risotto. Make sure to have ample cheese on hand, to make this colorful feast.

Risotto is a very forgiving recipe. Add or subtract ingredients to suit your taste.

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon cubes with water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Rainbow chard leaves and stems (about 1 bunch). Parboil the stems first.

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Additional grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Cover and keep warm. Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice and chard and stir until chard begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups hot broth. Simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy, stirring frequently and adding remaining 1/2 cup broth by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry, about 20 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer risotto to medium bowl. Serve, passing additional Parmesan separately.