This parmesan risotto recipe is wonderfully delicious and perfect for an impressive dinner. If you follow my instructions, you will have a spectacularly creamy, delicious, cheesy risotto in no time.
Risotto is one of my favorite dishes to cook because it’s taught me a lot about the chemistry of cooking, and how important technique is. Making your risotto can actually be pretty easy as long as you follow these best practices and tips from my post below!
Should the Stock be Hot or Cold for Risotto?
When cooking your risotto, make sure that your stock is at least room temperature, if not heated up all the way. Adding cold stock into your pot reduces the temperature of the entire dish, making for an uneven and frustrating cooking process.
If you leave your stock at a low simmer on the stove next to your risotto and then add in hot stock as you work, your risotto will be almost guaranteed to turn out better.
Should I Stir My Risotto Constantly?
There is a delicate balance when making risotto. Not stirring it at all means that you’re really just boiling your rice. The classic, creaminess of risotto would not exist without some stirring to activate the starches in the rice.
However, if you stir the rice too much, it will become over-sticky and turn almost gluey. This is undesirable as well.
The best option would be to stir the risotto each time you add stock into the pan. Stir briskly for about 25 seconds, then allow the risotto to sit for a while. Stir occasionally until the stock is used up. Then add more stock and repeat.
When Should I Add the Cheese into my Parmesan Risotto?
Make sure not to add your cheese into your risotto until you’ve completed cooking the risotto entirely. As soon as you add the cheese, your risotto will thicken, so we’ll want to save this step for the end.
Because the cheese will thicken the risotto, you’ll want to ensure that there is a little extra liquid in your risotto that the cheese can soak up without entirely ruining the texture. Make sure that you have left a little extra liquid in your last round of broth before adding the cheese, as this will keep the parmesan risotto from getting gluey.
What Ingredients are In Parmesan Risotto?
Butter
Onion
Garlic
Arborio rice
White wine
Chicken broth
Grated parmesan
How to Make Parmesan Risotto
In a large pot, heat butter on the stove. Add onions and garlic and saute until the onions turn translucent– about 5 minutes.
Add the rice into the pot and stir for about 5 minutes, until the rice starts to toast. Do not allow the rice to burn.
Add the white wine into the pan to deglaze. Allow the wine to reduce by half.
Once your wine has reduced, add the chicken broth into the pot, ½ cup at a time. After each addition, stir the rice until the liquid absorbs. Once the liquid is absorbed again, add another ½ cup liquid. Continue this process until the rice is cooked through.
You know to stop cooking the rice when you run a wooden spoon through the center of the pot, and the rice slowly moves back to fill the space.
Adding cheese may thicken your risotto a bit, so make sure it has a little extra liquid than you desire before adding the cheese. Once you’ve achieved your desired consistency, add the parmesan into the risotto.
Next, look over What To Serve with Risotto to complete the menu and enjoy a delicious meal.
Enjoy! Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you think!
What Goes with Parmesan Risotto?
This parmesan risotto is absolutely delicious all on its own. However, if you want to make this dish part of a larger meal, there are plenty of things that you can add into it to beef it up a little. No matter what you add into the risotto, make sure that you cook it separately, and then add the pre-cooked additions into the pot.
I really like adding vegetables into my risotto, particularly peas (you’ll remember my obsession with peas in creamy pasta dishes from my homemade macaroni and cheese post). You could also cook asparagus or mushrooms. And you can enjoy all of these in your risotto for a delicious sprint risotto recipe!
For protein, my favorite option is, by far, shrimp. This may be cheating, but my favorite option is to buy pre-cooked cocktail shrimp from the fish counter at my grocery store and then just add this into the parmesan risotto. You can also cook chicken on the side (or any other type of meat you’d like) and add it into your parmesan risotto once it comes time to serve.
Do you Cook Risotto Covered or Uncovered?
You should cook your risotto uncovered. Because you’re going to be stirring your risotto pretty consistently, the lid of your pot can stay off. This will also allow the liquid to evaporate from your pot, allowing you to add your next round.
Did you like this recipe for Parmesan Risotto from The Foreign Fork? If so, make sure to share a post on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #TheForeignFork and tag @TheForeignFork. If you liked this recipe, also check out these Foreign Fork recipes!:
Parmesan Risotto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic chopped
- 2 cups arborio rice
- ¾ cup white wine
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat butter on the stove. Add onions and garlic and saute until the onions turn translucent– about 5 minutes.
- Add the rice into the pot and stir for about 5 minutes, until the rice starts to toast. Do not allow the rice to burn.
- Add the white wine into the pan to deglaze. Allow the wine to reduce by half.
- Once your wine has reduced, add the chicken broth into the pot, ½ cup at a time. After each addition, stir the rice until the liquid is absorbed. Once the liquid is absorbed again, add another ½ cup liquid. Continue this process until the rice is cooked through.
- You know the rice is done when you run a wooden spoon through the center of the pot, and the rice slowly moves back to fill the space.
- Adding cheese may thicken your risotto a bit, so make sure it has a little extra liquid than you desire before adding the cheese. Once desired consistency is achieved, add the parmesan into the risotto.
- Enjoy! Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you think!
Donna says
I just made this recipe. It is delicious! I substituted a tablespoon of olive oil because I only had 2 tablespoons of butter. I also added spinach and it is so tasty. This is my first time making risotto and I am quite happy with the result. Great recipe and instructions!
The Foreign Fork says
I’m so glad you liked the recipe Donna! Adding spinach is a great choice and I think i’ll have to try it next time 😉