Garlic Parmesan Risotto

Risotto is a side dish originating from Northern Italy consisting of rice, parmesan cheese, white wine, and vegetable stock. This dish is very versatile and is really up to the chef’s creation for adding or subtracting ingredients. For having such simple ingredients risotto is one of the harder dishes to make. It takes a lot of focused attention for a long time, but this dish is worth the wait.

I chose to do garlic parmesan risotto, because there are no two better flavors that complement the foods of Italy. I started with four cups of vegetable stock; chicken stock can be used, I decided to make my dish vegetarian. The recipe that I followed required half of a medium onion, four cloves of garlic, one tablespoon of olive oil, one tablespoon of butter, four cups of vegetable stock, a fourth cup of dry white wine, one cup of arborio rice, one cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, three tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley. 

To begin heat the vegetable stock in microwave, and keep it warm. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the butter and olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until fragrant. After that add the garlic and cook for just one minute longer. Add the rice to the skillet, then quickly add the white wine to coat the rice. Let rice simmer until the wine is absorbed. Add one ladle full of stock and stir frequently until absorbed. Repeat this until almost all the stock has been used. When the last ladle of stock is used add parsley. Only let the stock halfway absorb then add the parmesan cheese. Let the rest of the stock absorb and cheese melt until creamy, not soupy. Serve with an extra garnish of parsley and parmesan.

The next time I use this recipe I am going to add a little less parmesan, I thought the creaminess was overpowering. I am also going to try adding some mushrooms and use scallions instead of a white onion. Overall this recipe was really yummy