One of my favorite go-to comfort foods is a hearty serving of creamy risotto. Made with Italian Arborio rice, risotto is thick and creamy thanks to the natural starches that exude from the slow-cooked, short-grain rice. Once you master the basic risotto cooking method, you can flavor the cooked rice with anything your heart desires. I decided to flavor this one with chopped Parma ham, Pecorino cheese, sliced Castelvetrano olives and lemon zest for tang. Utterly delicious indeed!
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Lemony Risotto with Green Olives & Parma Ham
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ cup Arborio rice
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Pecorino Romano cheese
- ¼ cup sliced Castelvetrano olives
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 oz. thinly sliced parma ham, chopped
Directions:
- Heat the butter in a medium saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat. Add in the garlic cloves and saute for 1 minute. Add in the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute to toast the rice and coat each grain with the butter. Add in the white wine and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the liquid has evaporated.
- Now, with about 1/2 cup of chicken broth at a time, ladle in the broth and stir, until the broth has evaporated. Then continue adding in the broth and cooking the risotto until it is al dente and puffed up. (This can take anywhere from 15-25 minutes….but keep stirring!)
- Add in the lemon zest, ham and sliced olives; stir the risotto. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and stir in the 1/4 cup of cheese. Serve warm with more cheese, if desired.
Tagged: arborio rice, Castelvetrano olives, chicken stock, garlic, green olives, lemon zest, Parma ham, pecorino cheese, rice, risotto, short grain rice
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