It turns out arborio rice has twice the protein and fiber of brown rice so risotto is officially on the menu this winter at our house.
I made this risotto the night before Carl proposed to me, and I feel like that’s all you really need to know about how good this dish is.
It comes together in ~45 minutes total, and risotto is actually way less fussy than everyone wants you to believe. This recipe is a gorgeous base for sauteed bitter greens, braised meats and roasted tomatoes.
Recipe (serves 6)
1 medium shallot, diced fine
2 T olive oil
2 C Arborio rice
1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane
¾ C white wine
1 T fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp Kosher salt
1.5 C grated parm
4 T butter
Approx. 8 C Vegetable Broth (nitpicky- but we are obsessed with the Target broth and constantly buy them out to use in our restaurant)
In a large saute pan, sauce the shallot in the oil over medium low heat until translucent.
Add all of the rice into the pan, dry, and stir to combine. Add the garlic and continue stirring for about 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and the rice just begins to toast.
Turn the heat up to medium and add the wine to deglaze the pan. Allow the wine to mostly simmer out until you have a slightly juicy rice mixture, then add ~2c broth, the pepper and salt. Stir occasionally (it’s a myth that you need to constantly stir your risotto and whoever told you that is just trying to gatekeep something delicious), until the liquid is almost fully absorbed into the rice. Add another few cups of liquid, just enough to cover the rice by about a half inch. Stir occasionally, allowing the rice to almost absorb all the liquid again. Repeat this until you have added the last couple of cups of broth.
When the risotto reaches a creamy dreamy- still slightly soupy but mostly solid- texture, add the butter and most of the Parm (reserving some Parm for the top of your bowl!). Stir well and serve.
Note! The broth does not need to be hot to add it to the rice as some recipes might state. I just don’t pour cold broth into the rice- always room temperature from a new carton. If you’re using homemade broth of some kind it might be nice to warm it up first so you don’t shock the rice which prevents it from getting as creamy dreamy as you want.
I serve this dish in a small low bowl- here’s our favorite that we use at home and in the restaurant! They’re bamboo (great for kids too!) and a great size for everyday eating.
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