'Pasotto': Pasta cooked Like risotto

[Robin Garr]

Cooking pasta in its own sauce, adding liquid in small portions and stirring as if it were risotto? Bizarre, but curiously intriguing. I'm tempted to try it. Have any of you ever done this?

http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive ... tto/57175/

Um, sort of for me. I've never done it the true risotto way (small amounts of liquid at a time), but I have added dry pastas to simmering stews or soups during the last 10 minutes or so of cooking.

This method is intriguing. I am not a fan of cooking large amounts of pasta simply because of the giant pots and ridiculous amounts of water it takes, so I might just have to give this a shot.

My question, though, is will pasta absorb water like risotto? The lure of risotto is the water being absorbed while the starch turns everything creamy. I realize that pasta contains starch, but can it create the same texture of sauce that risotto can?

I make a dish with orzo, asparagus, prosciutto and saffron where the orzo is cooked like risotto, but with less stirring. Parmesan is also added at the end of cooking, like risotto. It produces a nice rich flavor and a very creamy texture. I almost like it better than using arborio because it doesn't seem as heavy. Good summer dish topped with a little grated lemon zest.

[Robin Garr]

Um, sort of for me. I've never done it the true risotto way (small amounts of liquid at a time), but I have added dry pastas to simmering stews or soups during the last 10 minutes or so of cooking.

Yeah, now that I think of it, I'll often stir orzo or similar soup pasta into a small amount of simmering broth being used as a braising medium for pork chops, chicken parts, and the like. Gauge the proportions right (about 2:1 liquid to pasta) and you end up with something a lot like a pilaf.

Seeing it done with penne and other pasta shapes struck me as interesting, though. Can't answer your question about whether it "makes its own gravy" like Arborio and related rice varieties do, but I guess there's one way to find out ...

Can't answer your question about whether it "makes its own gravy" like Arborio and related rice varieties do

The orzo does.

Concur on the "orzo with less stirring" . . . make this quite frequently! Tastes great, absorbs flavor of liquid, is easy, and a fraction of the work of "real" risotto!

Read the article over the weekend and found it pretty intriguing. Hope whomever tries it first posts some results!