My microwave is reserved, almost exclusively, for reheating leftovers. Occasionally I\u2019ll use it to thaw frozen meat or melt chocolate, but I have never felt particularly inclined to actually cook anything in it. Needless to say, I had some serious reservations the first time I made microwave risotto. But, as it turns out, you can make a pretty convincing risotto in your microwave\u2014even if it is<\/em> totally cheating.<\/p>\n Risotto is one of those simple dishes that manages to feel fancy despite its (mostly) humble ingredient list. In its simplest form, a risotto is made from just rice, broth, wine, cheese, and butter, though endless variations, featuring different aromatics, vegetables, and meats, exist. At its best, a risotto is creamy and packed with flavor, but the rice itself remains al dente. Containing no cream at all, its rich texture is purely a product of a slow cooking process that requires near-constant stirring.<\/p>\n Microwaving risotto eliminates the most laborious aspect of the traditional method: the minimum 20 minutes of stirring. It also speeds things up considerably and frees your hands for more productive tasks, like prepping the rest of dinner and doing the dishes. To be honest, the idea of microwaving something for 18 minutes straight sort of freaked me out, but it was so easy and hands-off compared to the traditional method that I felt inclined to look the other way.<\/p>\n In all fairness, my version of microwave risotto does not happen exclusively<\/em> in the microwave. I still saut\u00e9 my aromatics and rice in a skillet on the stove, and I also keep a saucepan of broth simmering throughout the process. So, yes, this method technically uses more dishes than the old-fashioned way\u2014but if I\u2019m on a tight schedule or hoping to multitask, it\u2019s well worth the extra clean-up. The time not spent stirring is abundantly useful, and every time the microwave dings, all there is to do is stir in a little more liquid and cook it a little longer.<\/p>\n To figure out my ideal microwave risotto recipe, I tried a few different methods. Most of the recipes I found online opt for the most hands-off route possible, wherein all of the ingredients are combined and cooked together in one go. I found the resulting risotto to be surprisingly tasty, but not particularly creamy. A lot of recipe reviews recommended stirring in a splash of cream after the risotto is done cooking to help enhance the texture. As any risotto aficionado will tell you, this is a complete no-no, but since the rules were already out the window by this point, I decided to give it a shot. Rather than contribute any \u201ccreaminess,\u201d however, the cream just made the risotto feel and taste a bit greasy.<\/p>\n I found that a slightly more hands-on technique yields better results and is still easier and quicker than a traditional stovetop risotto. Cooking the risotto in three bursts (adding liquid and stirring well after each interval) definitely improved the texture, but the creaminess factor was still lacking. The secret, I realized, is reserving a good amount of hot broth to stir in at the very end, after the risotto is done cooking and out of the appliance entirely. Only after figuring this out did I become a true microwave risotto convert.<\/p>\n