Basic Parmesan Risotto

 

Today I want to share with you a basic Italian staple recipe.  Risotto has a reputation for being very difficult and time consuming, but the reality is that it takes about thirty minutes.  It does require that you pretty much constantly stir it for about 20 minutes, but the result is so delicious.  This is Italian comfort food for sure.  This is another one of those recipes that you can be creative with and make it your own. So, let me teach you the basics and then you can experiment and see what you like best!

First of all, you need Arborio rice.  It matters.  It’s a short grain rice that produces a creamy, wonderful flavor.  Today, I’m going to make the most plain and basic version, but then I’m going to show you another recipe using risotto that will change your life.

 

 

 

You’ll need: 1 cup Arborio rice

2 T Butter

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Chicken (or you can use vegetable) broth (4-6 cups)

1 medium onion, chopped

Parmesan cheese

Dry white wine

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt butter and olive oil.

 

 

 

 

 

Chop up your onion.  I often use this really great manual food processor to chop onions.  It works really well and is fast and easy.  Check it out here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook the onion in the butter and olive oil until it starts to look a little translucent.  If you want to add other vegetables, now is the time to do that.  You can use peas, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, spinach – anything you want to add.  I often make this with spinach and Italian sausage.  It’s a warm, cozy comfort meal.  If you’re adding Italian sausage, add it (already fully cooked) at the very end.

When the onion is ready, add the rice and stir it around and let it cook for about 2 minutes, coating it fully in the olive oil and butter.  Next, add about 1/3 cup of white wine and let that cook until it evaporates.

Now, set your timer for 20 minutes.  Pour 1/2 cup of broth into the rice and start stirring.  You can’t leave or do other things at this point.  You have to stir it almost constantly.  When the broth is all cooked into the rice, add another 1/2 cup and keep on stirring.  Do this until the 20 minutes is up.  Just keep stirring and adding broth.  It will start out looking like this..

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the end of the 20 minutes, it will expand and be this delicious creamy perfection.

The last step is to add as much parmesan cheese as you want – the more you add, the creamier it will be.  You are going to love this!  You can use it as a side dish if you’d like, but you can also add vegetables and meat and make it a one pot meal.