Smoky Cabbage and Raisin Risotto

Do NOT let the title of this dish throw you off. If I tried, I could have come up with something that sounded more appetizing. I think the recipe that we based this dish off called it "Smoky Radicchio Risotto 'Michu'" or something. Whatever "michu" is. But let's just call it what it is: Smoky Cabbage and Raisin Risotto. You know what else it is? Delicious.

Ingredients
Use the standard risotto base for this: arborio rice, onion, garlic, chicken stock, boiling water, salt, pepper, basil. We're just going to be adding some extra ingredients:

• 1 cup golden raisins
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 2/3 cup dry white wine (FIXED, SEAN)
• 1/2 cup chopped smoked Gouda

Cover the raisins with hot water and let soak for 15 minutes or so. They need to be plump before you add them to the risotto.
Do the whole risotto song and dance - cook the chopped onion in some olive oil and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add rice and stir, making sure to coat the rice with all the oil and garlic you possibly can. Do this until the rice gets a little toasty. Add the wine to deglaze the pot. Then add the chicken stock, raisins, and cabbage and stir well. Keep adding water about a cup at a time.
When rice is pretty near done, stir in the Gouda. Make sure to season the risotto with salt and pepper. We also chiffonaded some basil and added that.

Thoughts: This was fantastic. I cannot stress that enough. Was the color weird? Yes, because it turned sort of a light purple. Was that a little off-putting at first? Yes. But don't pay attention to the color. The taste is so fantastic. The cabbage doesn't add a very strong flavor, but it's hella good for you. Golden raisin + smoked Gouda = fantastic flavor combination. I think we're actually going to put more raisins in next time. I was a little skeptical that this dish would work out, but it did and it was amazing. I highly recommend this for adventuresome foodies.

Disaster Index: 1/10