Risotto Made Easy!
This recipe is creamy, rich, and just darn delicious! By using simple ingredients from the pantry and fridge you can create a delicious dinner and become the chef of your kitchen.
How to make the perfect risotto:
Use warm broth
Using cold liquid can mess with the cooking process by cooling down the ingredients.
Little by little add broth
Slowly add warm broth to the rice. Sure, okay, you can pour it in all at once, but then it just turns into boiled rice.
By slowly adding broth you allow the rice more opportunities to touch, which will aid in the creaminess. Arborio rice is very starchy, and the starch is released by agitation.
Stir enough
You don't have to constantly stir every second while cooking risotto or until your arm falls off.
Stirring too much can cool down the ingredients, while not stirring enough might leave the rice sticking to the bottom.
Stirring enough continues to aid in the creaminess as it helps to release the starches, just like adding the broth slowly.
Medium is best
Cooking over medium heat we've found to be the best temp for making risotto.
Risotto has a slower cooking process, but the heat doesn't need to be so low where it takes forever, and not too high where you might run into burning and sticking.
Remove from heat just before rice is done
The residual heat will continue to cook the rice after, so it's best to remove the rice just before it's fully cooked.
Add butter and cheese at the end
Save the butter and cheese for after the rice is cooked.
This will also make the risotto extra creamy.
Depending on the veggie, most can wait to be added
This is a very relative statement, but it can help to enhance the risotto flavors.
We love roasting veggies and mixing them in after the risotto is cooked.
Sometimes flavors and veggies can get left lackluster if added right at the beginning of cooking.
Again, totally depends on the risotto dish.
Let's make it:
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Cherry tomatoes (plus more from toppings)
Arborio rice
White wine
Chicken or veggies broth/stock
Butter
Parmesan cheese
Balsamic glaze
Basil or parsley (optional)
Make sure to check out our other risotto dishes!
