For a person that loves Sicillian and Italian flavours, I’m as shocked as you are that I only have one risotto menu on my website! It’s my creamy prawn risotto and it sure is delicious. But do you do meat free Mondays? Are you looking for a budget friendly meal? I have the perfect solution: it’s Leek Risotto.
Leek Risotto
Risotto is a few things: delicious, filling, rich and also it’s a labour of love. I mean it. It can be take a while and some patience but nothing worth doing right is worth rushing. So, even though risotto might take some time, it’s time well spent.
Classic risotto
What makes a classic risotto? There’s a few ingredients that you’ll see in a lot of risottos: white wine, cream, butter and cheese. This one has several of those ingredients including white wine. The sharpness of white wine cuts through the dense arborio rice and makes it bright.
It’s leeky around here!
I have an announcement to make: I love leek! Oh, it feels good to get that off my chest! Part of the onion family, leek is a classic Italian flavour and can be milder than some onions. From my leek and potato soup through to my roasted chicken, there’s rarely a dish that leek won’t go well with.
But, Daen, how do you do perfecto risotto?
I hear you, I hear you! Risotto can seem overwhelming but I promise you – it’s not as difficult as it looks!
Let’s break it into steps.
My tips on making the best risotto
I must admit, I was slightly terrified to make my first risotto. There is a misconception they require a lot of skill to make but this could not be further from the truth! While they ask for a fair bit of your time, they don’t ask for any special skillset to make them. Follow my tips below for the best risotto result.
Stock – Let’s talk about one of the secrets to creating the perfecto risotto—stock! Stock is the foundation that can elevate a good risotto to a whole new level of culinary delight. I like to always use a homemade stock such as this prawn stock or my chicken stock. These stocks are like liquid gold, packed with depth, complexity, and a symphony of flavours that will dance on your taste buds. If you are short on time, make sure you are buying a high quality stock that is rich in flavour!
Rice – It’s important you use arborio rice when making a risotto. This special rice variety boasts a higher starch content compared to other types of rice, and that’s what gives your risotto that irresistible creaminess we all adore. The magic happens as the rice absorbs the flavourful broth and releases its starch, creating a velvety, luxurious texture that coats each grain.
Patience – risotto is best served on a slow Sunday’s evening as patience is key when making it! Time is of the essence when a ladle of stock has been added to the rice as it needs to be stirred through until the rice has fully absorbed it. This step cannot be rushed as it creates that beautiful silky texture you are after!
Butter & Cheese – this is what brings everything together in your risotto to create a beautiful creamy texture. This combo coats each grain of rice, creating a silky smoothness that is simply irresistible. And let’s not forget about cheese—the final touch that adds a delightful creaminess and a burst of flavour to our delicious risotto.
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Leek Risotto
Ingredients
- 50 g salted butter 3 tbsp
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large leek sliced finely
- 2 shallots sliced finely
- 1/2 cup white wine 125mL
- 1 1/4 cup arborio rice 250g
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1 litre
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated 35g
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- salt + pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot on a medium – high heat, melt half of the butter. Once bubbling and melted, drizzle over olive oil. Bring to the heat. Add the white and pale green parts of the leek to pan, reserving the leek tops, shallots and garlic and sauté for 10 minute or until softened and fragrant. Stir occasionally.
- Add the rice to the pot and cook for 2 minutes or until the rice turns opaque. Add in the wine and keep stirring with the rice until all of the wine has been absorbed by the rice.
- Reduce the heat to medium. One cup at a time, add in the chicken or vegetable stock and stir through until all the stock is absorbed. Repeat this step 5 more times until you have used up all of your stock. Your rice will start to become plump as it continues to cook and absorb the stock. It should take roughly 25 minutes to cook. When you have added your last cup of stock you want only 80% of the liquid to be absorbed.
- Turn the heat to low and stir through the remaining butter, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice and pinch of salt and pepper.
- Quickly fry off the leek tops in a separate fry pan on a high heat with a drizzle of olive oil for 2 minutes or until crispy. Sprinkle over the risotto and serve immediately.
My family and I loved making -and devouring- this recipe. It was super easy and straightforward to make yet delivered such amazing flavors. The citrus plays incredibly well with the parmesan and I can’t wait to make it again.
Thank you for leaving this lovely comment!
Five stars! I love leeks. I love lemons. I love risotto. This was amazing. I’m so happy I made extra for tomorrow night. Definitely going to be making this a lot more often.
Yay! So happy to hear this!