The Old-School Italian Dish That'll Never Leave My Dinner Rotation
Risotto is a dish that is sure to impress. It’s one of Italy’s quintessential dishes, made from short grain rice, savory broth, and nutty Parmesan cheese. While restaurants would love to keep you under their spell with their risottos, this dish is actually very simple (and much more affordable) to make at home. Risotto’s luxuriously creamy consistency comes from the technique of slowly adding broth and coaxing the starches from the rice, and not from the addition of heavy cream. If you’ve always wanted to make risotto at home, we have the only recipe you’ll ever need.
Why You’ll Love It
You need just 6 ingredients. Rice, onion, white wine, butter, chicken broth, and Parmesan cheese transform into the most elegant comfort food you can imagine.
The technique is simple. Making risotto isn’t difficult; it just takes some time. All you have to do is slowly add warm broth to the rice as it’s cooking and stir until it is absorbed and pulls the starches from the rice to thicken the broth.
Key Ingredients in Risotto
Rice: Arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano are short-grain rice varieties used for making risotto.
White wine: Choose a dry white wine to deglaze the pan. The bottle doesn’t have to be expensive, but should be one you’d enjoy drinking on its own.
Chicken broth: Use low-sodium store-bought broth or make your own chicken stock. Use low-sodium vegetable broth instead to make this risotto vegetarian.
Parmesan cheese: Use good-quality Parmesan cheese for its nutty, salty flavor, and make sure to shower each serving with even more cheese.
How to Make Risotto
Heat the broth. Bring the broth to a simmer, then reduce the heat to keep warm while you start the risotto.
Sauté the onion and toast the rice. Cook the onion in butter just until softened but not browned to begin building flavor in the risotto. Add the rice and cook until starting to turn translucent.
Add the wine. Pour in dry white wine, and stir to release any grains of rice stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Add the broth slowly. Stir the warm broth into the rice, 1/2 cup at a time. Stirring helps to develop the risotto’s signature creamy consistency because it helps release the starches from the rice. Wait until the rice is about halfway done before adding the seasoning.
Know when the risotto is ready. The risotto is ready when the rice is the creamy consistency of thick porridge but is still al dente and not too soft. Run your spatula through the risotto, and it should flow slowly to fill in the space.
Stir in butter and Parmesan. Remove the pot from the heat and let the residual heat to melt the butter and Parmesan.
Storage Tips
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat, add more broth to loosen to desired consistency and warm in the microwave or over medium-low heat on the stovetop. Risotto’s consistency can turn grainy and unpleasant when frozen, so freezing risotto is not recommended.
What to Serve With Risotto
Risotto Recipe
We cracked the code for the best, creamiest risotto.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes to 35 minutes
Makes 6 cups
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 (32-ounce) cartons low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (8 cups)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 cups arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces), plus more for serving
Instructions
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Bring 2 (32-ounce) cartons low-sodium chicken broth to a bare simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce the heat as needed to maintain the bare simmer.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a large, high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1/2 finely diced small yellow onion and sauté until softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups arborio rice. Continue to stir and cook until the outside is translucent but the center is opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup dry white wine and cook, stirring constantly, until the wine has evaporated and the pan is almost dry, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Begin adding the warm broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Wait until the broth has been almost completely absorbed by the rice before adding more broth. After about 12 minutes, stir in 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and begin tasting the rice to determine doneness.
Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice is al dente, the broth is creamy, and the dish has the consistency of thick porridge, 20 to 25 minutes total. You might not use all of the broth. If you run your spatula through the risotto, the risotto should flow slowly to fill in the space.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese and the remaining 1 tablespoon unsalted butter until melted. Taste and season with more kosher salt as needed. Serve immediately, garnishing each bowl with more Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Add more broth when reheating to loosen to desired consistency.
Further Reading
The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can’t Stop Talking About
