Creamy Lemon Risotto
This creamy, tangy lemon risotto is a cinch to make at home but tastes like restaurant quality. Add torn basil for a fresh herby taste.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 6-7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large shallot
- 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (like pinot grigio)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour chicken broth into a medium pot on the stove and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Keep broth simmering as you cook the risotto, adjusting the heat level as you use the broth so it stays at a gentle simmer.
- Chop shallot and set aside.
- Grate Pecorino Romano cheese and set aside.
CREAMY LEMON RISOTTO COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
- Add shallots to the skillet and stir to coat, then cook 5-6 minutes until softened.
- Stir the uncooked rice into the shallots. Let rice cook about 4 minutes, until fragrant, then stir in the white wine, deglazing the bottom of the skillet as you go. Cook a few minutes, stirring regularly, until the wine is almost totally absorbed.
- Reduce heat under the skillet to medium. Ladle in ½- ¾ cup of the simmering chicken broth into the skillet. Stir and let cook rice, stirring regularly, until liquid is almost totally absorbed. Repeat the "add-broth-stir-until-liquid-absorbed" process, adding more broth whenever the pan starts to get dry. Be patient – this will take 40-45 minutes.** SEE BELOW FOR RISOTTO COOKING TIPS.
- Once the risotto is cooked through, stir the lemon juice into the skillet and let cook until absorbed.
- Turn off the heat under the skillet and the pot that held the chicken broth. Stir the grated cheese, lemon zest, mascarpone cheese, salt, and pepper into the risotto. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Tear the fresh basil into small pieces and stir into the hot risotto.
- Serve Cream Lemon Risotto immediately, garnishing with more grated cheese and fresh basil if desired.
Notes
**RISOTTO COOKING TIPS:
-- At the beginning of the “add-broth-and-stir” phase, you only need to stir the risotto every 1-2 minutes. Once you’re about halfway through the broth -- and once the rice starts to plump up – stir the risotto every 30-45 seconds to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
-- When you have about 2 cups of broth left, start tasting your risotto to check the texture. At the end, the rice grains should be soft all the way through but still al dente. This won’t happen until you’re almost done with the broth.
-- You might not need all 7 cups of broth to fully cook the risotto; it can vary slightly according to temperature, humidity, etc. As long as you get the risotto to that soft but al dente texture – which should use most of the broth – you’ll be fine.