Last week, I was fresh out of ideas for dinner. It’s no secret I’ve been in a cooking rut. Our dinners have been chicken, chicken, and more chicken, with a side of chicken veggies. I sent an email to my friend Colleen, searching for inspiration for that night’s meal as well as future meals. She quickly responded with lots of wonderful suggestions.
It’s no wonder she’s a janitor at works at MIT.
Col suggested that I try Emeril’s Three-Cheese Risotto, having recently made it herself. I glanced at the recipe and realized I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Dishes that use pantry staples are my favorite. I knew it would be a welcome side dish to cook with that night’s dinner, which was, you guessed it, chicken!
As you know, I’m not huge on pasta or rice. Call me crazy, but I prefer veggies on the side. Lloyd doesn’t care either way. Whenever I make a dish using pasta or chicken, we eat a little, and inevitable toss the rest, so it’s not often that I bother. This dish was a good as Colleen promised. Totally worth all the stirring required for risotto.
Three-Cheese Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onions
- Salt and white pepper
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 1 pound Arborio rice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives (I subbed dried)
Directions
- In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 3 minutes, or until the onions are slightly soft.
- Add the stock and garlic. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 6 minutes.
- Add the rice and simmer for 18 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the mixture is creamy and bubbly.
- Add the butter, cream, cheese and chives. Re-season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve immediately.
This was only my third time trying my hand at risotto. (The others were pre-blog.) I don’t find it to be as intimidating so much as time-consuming. Risotto requires a a keen eye… and a strong arm! This time the rice was more al dente than it should have been. I took the pictures after it was reheated so it’s hard to tell that it was, in fact, creamy… even if it didn’t turn out quite as creamy as I would have liked. Regardless there was no denying the wonderful taste!
I enjoyed the different flavor combos this had going on: the onion and garlic, the mixture of the sharp cheeses, and the unexpected addition of chives. (Something I don’t cook with nearly enough!)
Cheesy goodness!
Although this is not a good example of what risotto should look like, I encourage you to give it a go. People perceive it as a complicated process, but it’s really just a little practice and a lot of attention.
Oh I’ve never tried making risotto myself either. But I love the cheese and chive combo
Interesting recipe. It sounds easy and tasty! Thank you for sharing
Risotto isn’t like regular rice, it’s so…creamy. I don’t wonder that you liked it way more! Yours looks good!
Hey, you’re in the Boston area, are you listed with BostonFoodBlogs? It’s a site just for us Boston Foodies and they even had a launch party last night in the South End. It was fun and I know they will have other functions. If you aren’t listed with them and want to join, let me know and I will give you the link.
Yummy! I’ve never made risotto, mostly because rice is a side dish that like, never occurs to me to make. This sounds yummy, Emeril knows his stuff!
Great combo of the cheeses. Wouldn’t say no to a second or third helping.
I have NEVER successfully made risotto! I’ve tried….but failed…and then kind of given up on it. Maybe I’ll give it another shot! : )
Im willing to try any recipe with heavy cream! (haha, bet that makes me sound cute as a button) but really, this does sound quite tasty when you read the ingredients.
You are right, risotto is a time honored dish, but the results are oh so worth it. You had me at “three-cheese!”
Risotto is amazing, but it def is a pain because you do have to constantly keep stirring it. I always err on the side of more (i.e. more cream, more cheese) and I eyeball it because it will absorb eventually, and I’d rather have my risotto creamy than dry. I also like to add truffle oil to mine. It gives it a wonderful flavor!
I ADORE risotto. It’s one of my most favorite comfort foods. One of the things I like most about it is how creamy it is.
In all honesty, I’ve never seen an authentic risotto recipe prepared the way this one is, putting the liquid in all at once. That’s really not right.
Normally, the broth is heated to barely simmering and put next to the rice pot on the stove. Then the rice is cooked in butter (or other melted fat) until it starts to turn white and release its starch. From that point on, broth is added by ladle-ful, stirring until it’s absorbed before adding another ladle. That’s done until the the rice is very creamy and tender. (That’s just the rice basics…all the other ingredients get worked in there somehow, etc., etc.)
It is time-intensive but so, so worth it. Now I’m going to have to go make some.
Oh hello cheesy risotto…I’d love to have you for dinner! YUM!
I’ve never tried making risotto. I need to put it on my list of things I need to try.
This looks awesome! I LOVE risotto…but, I haven’t bought any actual risotto rice, I always just use this boxed risotto that I found at Target (of all places) that I LOVE. It’s actually their brand- that Archer Farms- and it’s some kind of red pepper risotto. SOOOOO freakin’ good!
Your risotto looks nice and fluffy to me. I’ve never tried making risotto yet, so I’m definitely impressed that you’ve already made it three times.
I love risotto! It’s not really as hard as people think….just a lot of arm work.
I absolutely adore risotto! This recipe sounds like it is right up my alley!
If you ever need to get rid of any leftover pasta or rice…I accept fed ex shipments! This risotto looks and sounds wonderful…anything with three cheeses HAS to be, though. Right?
Yummy! I don’t make risotto enough. I think it’s all the stirring and more stirring that deter me. I need to try this though because the mention of cheese got me all excited.
I love risotto, but don’t love make it. But I do like this recipe. I’m sure it tasted great!
Anything with Asiago cannot be bad! I also always include white wine. It just gives an extra layer of flavor!
I LOVE risotto! I actually don’t mind the time it takes to cook, it gives me some quiet time in the kitchen and the end result is well worth it! I have never tried recipe though and am definitely starring it for future use!
Ooooh, honey. This looks incredible. Plus, I’ve been fighting a serious head cold all week and this sounds like the perfect comfort food. Time to send the hubs to the store…
This rice looks so light and tasty!