risotto "easy"

In his article in The New York Times this week, Mark Bittman says: "Almost every cook believes (incorrectly) that risotto must be stirred constantly while your're making it."

He goes on to say that he learned, to his delight, that he could walk away from the simmering rice for minutes at a time, and the results were still terrific. He suggests that you need to stir only occasionally, just after each ladle of stock is added and just before that liquid evaporates and you get ready to add another ladle.

Test it for yourself! It worked for us (we think).

Several decades ago Vincent Price, the movie star, and his wife created a leather-bound cook book called "A Treasury of Great Recipes." One of the recipes, which came from famous chefs around the world, was for risotto, and came from the then chef of the Danieli in Venice. This method also required minimum stirring. In fact, almost none.

The recipe and technique in the Vincent Price book can be found at www.classicpasta.com/risotto, under the heading "risotto - easy stir".

We would be delighted to hear from any of you on your perceptions of these risotto easy methods, and how they worked for you.