Why I Love My Charred Lemony Risotto
One of my favorite comforting dishes is risotto. I love rice of all kinds, but there is something about the complexity of risotto that speaks to my soul. It is sometimes a side, but also a wonderful one-pot complete meal. It combines all the warming attributes…starchy, creamy, deeply umami, great friends with all vegetables, and proteins, and can be doctored with all the cheese and dairy your heart longs for. At the same, it can be light, bright, and the perfect vehicle to let gentler flavors shine.
Risotto is an Italian dish, and also the term for a way of cooking rice. The Italian word risotto comes from Riso which translates to rice. Traditionally risotto is made from short-grain starchy white rice, varieties like Arborio, the most commonly found varietal, however, there’s more to choose from: Baldo, Carnaroli, Maratelli, Padano, Roma, and Vialone Nano. Arborio, Carnaroli, and Vialone Nano are the most easily found, try them all and find your favorite.
Char the beautiful Italian lemons, these are Sorrento the lemons used for making Limoncello, but regular lemons will do just fine here. The charring will flavor the pan with the essence of lemon, save the charred flesh to finish the risotto, pressing the pulpy flesh through a sieve.
Cooking method:
The process of cooking risotto differs from other rice cookery. The ratio of rice to liquid is quite a bit more, when I do a simple search for this the internet says 1:3, 1 part rice to 3 parts liquid. I’m here to tell you wrong!!! For 1 1/2 cups of rice I use 6-7 cups of liquid. The liquid is slowly stirred into the rice a little bit at a time, allowing absorption to happen before the next addition of liquid. You must have your stock hot, otherwise, your rice will drop in temperature each time you add liquid and you will end up with gummy rice, instead of creamy deliciousness.
Risotto has been sold to us as a labor intensive, must stand over the pot stirring constantly like an Italian Nonna, but I am here to tell that is just not the case. When I was a newby line cook, the sous chef of the restaurant I worked in gave me the task of prepping a grain in the “style of risotto”, he came back a bit later and found me standing at the stove stirring away even though I also had a prep list a mile long to get through before service started. Obviously, he questioned what I was doing, and then laughed so hard at my intense focus to prepare my “risotto” in the classic technique.
Since then, I have learned that the constant stirring while very enjoyable, methodical and might I say meditative, does not yield a better result than stirring occasionally. The key is to give the rice and good aggressive stir each time you add liquid to the pan, and feel free to give it any additional stirs when you walk by, think about it, or just need an excuse to do some internal meditation.
Make It Your Own
This is a jumping off point. Add in any sauteed veggies, protein or change the flavor profile:
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Frozen peas
- Blanched asparagus or broccoli
- Pan seared scallops
- Poached halibut
- Sub heavy cream for mascarpone cheese
- Add crispy pancetta, bacon, or spam
- Add a pinch of saffron to the broth
- Blistered cherry tomatoes
- Swap out leeks for shallots
Things You Need From Your Pantry
- Arborio or Carnaroli
- Wine
- Salt
- Better Than Bouillion
- Olive Oil
- Shallot
Things You May Need To Grab From The Store
- Lemons
- Mascarpone
- Parmegiano Reggiano
- Wine
- Butter
Charred Lemony Risotto
Course: DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes25
minutesCharred Lemony Risotto will be the dreamy star of your dinner plate, as the bed for a lucsious roasted salmon or the main event.
Ingredients
8 cups water
1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillion roasted chicken broth
2 Sorrento lemons (regular is fine), cut in half
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, diced small
1 1/2 cup Arborio or Carnaroli
1/2 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc or pinot gris)
1 tsp kosher salt plus more
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 Tbsp salted butter
1/2 cup Parmegiano Reggiano
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the stock to a gentle simmer, hold hot over low heat.
- In a heavy-bottom Dutch oven, heat over medium heat and place the lemons cut side down into the pan. Char the lemons for 2-3 minutes until the cut edges caramelize and just before burning, turn them over and lightly char the skin as well. Remove from the pan and reserve. Add the olive oil to the pan and heat for 20-30 seconds, add in the shallots and lightly saute just until the shallots have softened and barely start to caramelize. Season the salt.
- Stir in the rice and cook for 2-3 minutes until the rice kernel edges are translucent and you can see the germ on the inside. Deglaze the pan with the wine and using a wooden spoon give the rice a vigorous stir. Stir the rice occasionally until most of the wine has been absorbed, when you pull your spoon through the rice it will leave an empty trail of just the pan at the bottom. Add in 2 ladles (about 1 cup) of stock and repeat the vigorous stir. You do not need to stir continuously, just occasionally give the rice a good stir as the liquid absorbs. After the first addition of stock, you will only add 1 ladle (½ cup) at a time, stirring at each addition and then occasionally, looking for the empty trail before each addition of stock. Continue this process until the rice is cooked through and creamy, about 18-20 minutes. You may not use all of the stock or may need a little extra liquid.
- While the risotto is cooking, mash the flesh of the charred lemon through a mesh strainer, pushing as much pulp through as possible. Turn the heat off on the risotto before all of the broth from the last addition has been added, stir in the mascarpone, reserved lemon juice with pulp, parmesan, and butter. The risotto should be very creamy and still loose, not thick and gummy, add more broth if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
- From the time you first starting adding liquid, cooking time should be 22 minutes.
