“Hey Amanda! What are you doing making warm, comforting risotto in the middle of June?!” you ask. Well, I say why let the weather dictate when we can or should enjoy some of the foods we love (within reason). If you want risotto in June or ice cream in January, you should have it! Asparagus will soon be out of the farmer’s market-or at least will jump up in price!-so let’s have one last run of it with this creamy lemon and chive risotto.
The backbone of the recipe is a lemon-Parmesan broth, made from lemon peel and old Parm rinds. If you’re not saving your Parm rinds when you get to the end, what are you even doing?! That’s a goldmine of flavor right there. Throw them in the freezer and save them for soups, stews, stocks or anything that simmers for awhile and deserves a boost of cheesy umami flavor.
Risotto is such a great recipe to have in your back pocket because it’s mostly made of pantry ingredients. If you keep Italian rice, like Arborio or Carnaroli, on hand, you can pretty much make risotto anytime! I always have rice, Parmesan and stock/broth on hand and I almost always have lemons and white wine so this risotto is only 35-ish minutes away at any time. You can throw anything you want in risotto, from vegetables to proteins to cheese, so it’s a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.
This would be great with seared scallops on top or with lump crabmeat stirred in if you want to make it a full meal for dinner or a dinner party. People think risotto is fancy, but little do they know it only takes a few ingredients, a little time and patience, and a lot of stirring to put this creamy risotto on the table!
[tasty-recipe id=”36731″]
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