Whether serving with a barbecue or as a meal in itself, this easy risotto recipe can be made in minutes and is guaranteed to please.
Risotto is a popular Italian rice dish that is very adaptable to the fresh ingredients at hand. A hearty meal for a cold winters night, risotto also makes a tasty side dish for a summer barbecue.
Some home cooks are hesitant to cook risotto by the traditional cooking method, where rice and stock are added gradually and the dish is continually stirred, but this microwave recipe produces a risotto that is just as tasty as the traditional, but can be made in around twenty minutes.
The secret to creating a traditional flavour is to use Arborio rice, which absorbs moisture to give the risotto its creamy taste. If no Arborio rice is available, substitute with another short-grain variety.
Basic Risotto Recipe
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 rashers bacon, finely diced
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Method
- Combine onion and oil in a 3L microwave safe casserole dish.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on high.
- Remove from microwave and stir.
- Add chopped bacon and cook for a further 2-3 minutes on high.
- Stir in Arborio rice and mix well until the rice is coated in the oil.
- Add stock and stir.
- Microwave for 12-15 minutes on high, stirring twice during cooking.
- Stir, then add pine nuts and parmesan prior to serving.
This simple risotto is flavoursome enough on its own, but the basic recipe can be adapted to make many variations, depending on what is on hand.
Vegetable risotto
Stir through fresh seasonal vegetables with the bacon at step 4. Some options include peas, snow peas, diced capsicum (peppers), corn kernels, sliced mushrooms and asparagus cuts.
For a true vegetarian dish, omit the bacon altogether and replace the chicken stock with 2 cups of vegetable stock.
Roast Pumpkin Risotto
Peel and chop pumpkin into cubes and place on an oven tray. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and chopped herbs if desired. Roast at 200C until tender and golden. Stir through the risotto with the pine nuts and parmesan.
Chicken Risotto
Poach or bake a chicken breast, then slice and stir through the risotto prior to adding parmesan.
This is an excellent use for leftover roast or barbecued chicken.
Seafood Risotto
Omit bacon and stir through cooked prawns, scallops and other shellfish. Omit parmesan and serve with wedges of lemon.
Preparing a risotto needn’t be a difficult or time-consuming task. With this simple recipe and its variations, risotto will soon become a family favourite.
