Make a batch of tasty Italian parmesan risotto, perfect for a dinner party or special occasion. This dish is easy to make, even for a beginner, with the helpful tips and tricks I learned from culinary school in Italy.
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After going to culinary school in Italy, I fell even more in love with risotto. This is a dish that's from Northern Italy, and it's made with a special kind of rice. The majority of the flavor comes from the vegetable stock the rice is cooked in, along with the flavor enhancers that are added, like parmesan cheese.
If you've only eaten risotto outside of Italy, then you'll be surprised to realize just how much of a bite the rice has to it when it's properly cooked. Italians still like the risotto to be somewhat hard (similar to al dente pasta).
While this dish is arguably fancy and great for an Italian dinner party, I also love making risotto for a weeknight dinner. It cooks in under 30 minutes, making it a great main course or side dish.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- The special ingredients you'll need to make risotto.
- How to ensure your risotto has amazing flavor.
- Why Italians often use a different kind of rice for risotto.
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Ingredients You Need
There aren't many ingredients in risotto, which means you'll want to buy high-quality ingredients that have a delicious taste.
- Vegetable stock: This ingredient helps cook the rice. You can either make your own vegetable stock or buy one that has a delicious flavor.
- Unsalted butter: This ingredient is used to toast the rice, and it's also folded in at the end to add great taste and texture to the risotto.
- Arborio rice: You'll need a special type of rice to make risotto. In culinary school, we were taught to use carnaroli or vialone nano rice since it can withstand a longer serving time without seizing up. However, this type of rice can be hard to find, so I opt for arborio.
- Dry white wine: When cooking with wine, always use a good bottle of wine that you would want to drink. I often use Pinot Grigio.
- Parmesan cheese: It's best to buy high-quality parmesan cheese for this recipe since it's the main flavoring ingredient. Always shred the cheese by hand so it melts better (pre-shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent that prevents it from melting well).
- Morton kosher salt/Black pepper: It's really important to properly season the rice if you want the best flavor. Rice by itself is fairly bland, but adding salt and pepper will help to enhance all of the other flavors in the dish.
- Infused garlic olive oil: I love garnishing the risotto with some infused garlic oil. You can also use this infused rosemary olive oil.
Check out the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make This Recipe
I've got a few tips and tricks I learned in culinary school to make the best authentic Italian risotto. Let's walk through how to make parmesan risotto so I can show you!
1. First things first, heat the stock until it's steaming. You want very hot stock to mix with the rice, otherwise, you risk the risotto turning gummy.
2. Next, chop 4 tablespoons (56 grams) of butter into small, ¼ inch (½ cm) pieces and place them in the freezer. This is a unique trick that we learned in culinary school. This butter will be used to finish the dish.
3. Melt the remaining butter in the saucepan, and toast the rice. You're looking for the rice to transform from white/opaque to translucent. This step seals the split in the rice to ensure too much starch doesn't release.
At this point, it's very important not to brown the rice. If you see rice turning a golden brown color, lower the heat immediately.
4. Add white wine, and cook until the rice has absorbed all the wine.
5. Next, ladle ¾ cup (175 ml) of hot stock into the large saucepan, just until the rice is covered. Once you reach this step, you'll want to set a timer for 16 minutes. This is about how much time it takes to perfectly cook the rice.
Once the rice has absorbed about half of the stock, add in another ½ cup (120 ml) ladle of hot stock. Continue this process until the rice is tender but still has a bite to it. Once it's ready, the rice will still look a little soupy.
6. Remove the risotto from the heat, and add the frozen butter to the rice.
7. Finally, season with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
8. In Italy, they plate the risotto in a very specific way. We were taught in school to ladle the risotto on a plate, and tap the bottom of the plate to spread the risotto into a thin layer. I always love garnishing the plate with some additional parmesan cheese and infused olive oil.
Expert Tips
- It's best to serve the risotto right after it has finished cooking. You don't want risotto to sit for too long, otherwise, it will start to firm up.
- In culinary school, we learned not to use arborio rice because it has a big slit in the middle of the rice, which causes starch to release more easily. If you live near an Italian market, see if you can find carnaroli or vialone nano rice. You'll use the exact same amount of these types of rice instead of the arborio.
- Making this dish for a dinner party? I usually estimate about 70 grams of rice per person if you're serving it as the main course, or 40–60 grams of rice if it's a side dish.
Recipe FAQs
Once fully and properly cooked, the rice should still have a nice bite to it. Italians do not like to eat mushy, overcooked rice.
Yes, you can also use chicken or beef stock if you'd prefer that flavor profile.
No! Do not wash the rice before cooking the risotto. This will rinse all of the good starch off of the rice.
Adding in the broth a little at a time helps the rice to slowly absorb the liquid and the flavor. This is what helps create a creamy and delicious risotto.
More Risotto Recipes
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Parmesan Risotto
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
- 32 ounces vegetable stock
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup plus more for garnish finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- infused garlic olive oil for garnish
Instructions
- Heat vegetable stock in a medium saucepan over medium high heat until it’s steaming.
- Roughly chop 4 tablespoons (56 grams) of butter into small, ¼ inch (½ cm) pieces and place in the freezer.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add rice to the saucepan and toast the rice until it’s translucent, about 4–6 minutes. You don’t want the rice to take on any color, so turn down the heat if you see browning.
- Add white wine, and cook until the rice has absorbed all the wine. Ladle ¾ cup (175 ml) hot stock into the large saucepan, just until the rice is covered. Once the rice has absorbed about half of the stock, add in another ½ cup (120 ml) ladle of hot stock. Continue this process until the rice is tender, but still has a bite to it. From the time you add in the first ladle of hot stock, it should take about 16 minutes to fully cook the rice. Once ready, the rice will still look a little soupy.
- Remove the risotto from heat, add the frozen butter to the rice, and stir until incorporated. Season with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. To serve, ladle the risotto on a plate, and tap the bottom of the plate to spread the risotto into a thin layer. Optionally, garnish with additional parmesan cheese and infused olive oil.
Pat
On my recent trip to Italy, I tried risotto for the first time. I knew I had to learn how to recreate this at home. I really love the flavor of this recipe and the texture was spot on with the one I ate on vacation