Week 28 CC: Citrus - Lemon Risotto

I found this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen for lemon risotto and couldn't wait to make it.  While risotto is labor intensive and a bit time consuming, it isn't difficult in terms of technical cooking abilitye.  I hadn't made it before but this was a rousing success!

I started by boiling 6 cups of chicken stock and sauteing the shallots

This recipe calls for 1/4c. White wine so I had the perfect chance to use my awesome "for the pan-for the chef" wine glass. It was a gift from a fabulous redditor for Arbitrary Day back in July! 

After browning the rice for a few minutes, I added the wine and stirred until absorbed.

From then on it was just a process of adding 1 cup of broth and stirring until absorbed, then adding another cup and stirring until absorbed... repeat until all the broth was absorbed! It probably took about 10 minutes per cup -maybe a little less. 

As it absorbs the broth it gets really creamy and almost looks like large grits. 

I added about 2/3c parmesan cheese - a bit less than Smitten Kitchen's recipe, but we are big cheese folks.

Next, I added the grated rind of two meyers lemons and the juice of one.

The final step was adding some chopped parsley. I didn't realize how lemon-y this dish would really be! It was a decent partner with grilled chicken breast, but both A and I agreed it would be a better accompaniment to something like scallops, (like SmitKitch). The lemon really shined and it was bright and creamy without feeling heavy. 

Although it takes a bit of time, it was a nice diversion from regular rice or pasta and I would totally try this again - maybe with a different flavor than citrus just to check it out!