Risotto – A Lovely Mess

Risotto is one of those recipes I’ve made so many times over the years that I could practically cook it in my sleep. While it’s often found on fancy restaurant menus, traditional Italian risotto is actually very easy to make, inexpensive and IMO a total comfort food. This classic risotto recipe is creamy, cheesy and not too dissimilar from my childhood favorite: macaroni and cheese.

If you can stir, you can make risotto! This is simply rice cooked on the stovetop with stock, wine, cream and cheese. There are about one million ways to flavor/spice this basic dish up, but what you will find in the recipe card below is what I would consider the classic, the gold standard, and what you should start with if you aren’t sure. I’ll also list some other recipes you can pair this with, but most often at our house we serve risotto alongside steak.

Related: If you love this basic recipe, next up try pumpkin risotto, risotto primavera, stuffing risotto, mushroom risotto and learn how to bake risotto in the oven.

Ingredients

• Arborio rice
• Chicken stock or chicken broth
• Dry white wine – like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc
• Unsalted butter – or olive oil
• Shallot
• Garlic
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Parmesan cheese
• Cream – I mostly use half and half
• Fresh herbs – thyme, rosemary, chives, etc. (optional)

Instructions

Prepare by finely chopping the shallot, mincing the garlic, grating the cheese and have your stock and wine measured out and at hand.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook the onions until soft and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Then stir in the rice and garlic. Cook another few minutes until the rice begins to look translucent.

Add half a cup of liquid (stock and wine) to the pan and stir as you allow it to simmer, cooking into the rice. Once it’s mostly gone, add another half a cup. Continue this until you’ve used all the liquid. Then remove a few rice grains from the pan and test them for doneness. You can cook it softer or firmer to the bite as you prefer.

Once the rice is cooked, stir in the cheese and cream. If you are using any chopped fresh herbs, you can toss them in now as well. Once incorporated and everything is warm, taste and add any more salt and pepper you feel it needs. Serve warm.

Tips & Notes

• Arborio rice is the rice to use for risotto. While other short-grain rice can work, it may take longer to cook with this method, may require more or less liquid to fully cook and won’t quite have the creamy, tiny dumpling-like effect that risotto is known for.
• Some cooks will encourage you to warm the stock and wine as you cook, the idea that they will incorporate into the rice faster and thus take less cooking time. In my experience, this doesn’t make a huge difference and is a pain to accomplish, so I skip it.
• I like to cook risotto in a large (wide) saucepan or large skillet as I feel this does actually help the rice cook faster as opposed to a pot.
• Use a wine you like to drink! This recipe won’t use a whole bottle, not even close. So you can serve the remaining with dinner or buy a single serving (small carton) to cut back on waste.
• If you find you don’t have chicken stock or broth, you could use water and a chicken bouillon cube.
• Ways to easily change up the flavor – instead of chicken stock or broth you could use beef stock or seafood stock. Swap the white wine for a dry red wine. Use a different variety of onion besides shallot, like red onion or sweet white onion. Use different fresh herbs to match what you plan to serve this with, like fresh parsley or cilantro if you are serving with carne asada. You can swap the Parmesan cheese for almost any other cheese like gruyere, sharp cheddar, havarti, or even a soft cheese like brie. I once had a risotto at a restaurant that had sour apple and brie in it—so good!
• You can also add more spices or seasoning beyond just salt and pepper, like oregano, cayenne for heat, turmeric for flavor and color, saffron, etc.
• Add some cooked vegetables or vegetable puree to the risotto for more color and flavor, like puree carrots or butternut squash, cooked mushrooms or greens like broccoli. 
• Finish the dish with a little squeeze of lemon juice or other citrus juice. 
• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. Rewarm in the microwave or on the stovetop.

What to serve with risotto