Today is the last recipe in the Risotto chapter of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. This recipe is a rice recipe, not a risotto. But what a great way to end the chapter. If you like gooey cheese and rice, you’ll love this dish. What comfort food. For this recipe, you boil rice in water. When al dente, you place it in a warm bowl and add shredded mozzarella cheese and stir. The heat from the rice makes a gooey stringy concoction. You then add grated Parmesan cheese, stir, then add butter and shredded basil leaves, and stir again.

Here’s a picture of the serving bowl. Makes you want to curl up in your pj’s in front of the fireplace with a bowl of this in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, doesn’t it?