Risottos … which are your favourites?

[Suffs]

Here I tend to make mushroom risotto, or roasted squash, or sometimes I make one with leftover roasted chicken and frozen peas …. I love risotto alla milanese but I make it rarely …

What are your favourites … your ‘go to’ everyday supper risottos or something ‘a bit special’ ….

Tell us which you like to make and eat … and give us some recipes too please …

[Norfolkman]

Seafood for me.

But pretty well all forms of seafood top my eating besties.

Risotto is such an easy dish to make but equally easy to make special with what goes on top.

[Binky]

We had a basic risotto last night.

Olive oil, chopped onion, arborio rice, vermouth, a bit of vegetable stock, frozen peas, prawns and a piece of cod cut into cubes. Quick and easy.

[Smitch]

I like leek and blue cheese or roasted butternut squash

[Pampy]

I make prawn and asparagus risotto with saffron - mmm...

[mistakened]

I make a Chicken, Frozen Pea and Rice dish but I call it a pilau

Moira

[Seatallan]

I agree with leek & cheese. I also have a chicken liver risotto recipe, which is very tasty. I'd make risotto more often but Mr S isn't desperately keen on it sadly.

[Suelle]

My risottos aren't exactly classic, as I'm only cooking one portion but I made a tasty salmon and courgette one earlier this week. I stirred some roast halved cherry tomatoes in at the end.

[Stokey Sue]

I tend to go with the simple standards - mushroom, asparagus, spring veg or chicken, or some form of seafood

Risotto Milanese or risi e bisi (simple pea risotto, classically quite soupy I believe) as a side

But I did a quick trawl through my Eat your Books index, and came up with several version of risotto with sausages, and several versions of risotto with chicken livers, including recipes from Locatelli so clearly the real deal, I fancy trying both.

Here's the Hairy Biker's version of sausage risotto
https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/vie ... ne-risotto

And here's a plausible chicken liver one - looks good in the picture
https://thegourmetgays.co.uk/recipes/ch ... r-risotto/

Aren't pilau/pilaf and risotto different moira?

[Binky]

Aren't pilaus and pilafs dry? Whereas as a risotto has to be slightly sloppy?

[Earthmaiden]

I came to making risotto quite late in life and follow the examples in Giorgio Locatelli's 'Made in Italy ...' book which came out about 15 -20 years ago I think - it has no visible publication date .

Finely chopped onion and any other appropriate soffito veg softened in olive oil. Butter, rice in a pan so grains absorb, white wine added and allowed to evaporate then very, very gradually, spoonfuls of good stock with rice absorbing each time. I like cheese or seafood best, added at appropriate times towards the end. I like mushroom too or slices of sausage. Not so excited about asparagus or artichokes. Chicken liver sounds nice.

[Stokey Sue]

When I make them the major differences between pilau or pilaf (I think they are the same thing just alternative spellings) and risotto are

Basmati or other long grain rice for a pilaf; a short grain rice such as arborio or carnaroli for risotto

Pilaf cooked in a closed pan so it comes out dry and fluffy; risotto cooked in an open pan with constant stirring, so it is moist and a bit creamy (though there is Instant Pot risotto of course, and Delia's baked version, the classic if stirred on thehob)

Pilaf cooked usually with water and often quite a few spices; risotto uses wine and stock; either may contain saffron

[scullion]

the only time i make risotto is in prep for arancini. neither of us care for risotto - sloppy, savoury, rice pudding.
if we were going to have a rice dish it would be either a paella or biriani - much more flavour.
we had arancini a couple of nights ago (from the freezer).

[RockyBVI]

I don’t say this often about anything I do, but I think I make a mean risotto. Initially a bacon and leek was the standard but more varied these days. A favourite is cauliflower, kale and oregano as an accompaniment to other things.

[Amber]

(More or less) Cranks fennel risotto. Or a mushroom risotto with celery, courgette, and tomatoes.

I don’t think I’ve ever made a meat risotto.

(But always served with garlic bread.)

[Busybee]

Mushroom is my absolute favourite followed by chicken and leek. Purists look away, but I cook in my instant pot and the process is fuss free, quick and bloomin delicious.

BB

[PatsyMFagan]

That's how I make mine...was quite underwhelmed when I ordered my first one in a restaurant..

[Suffs]

This is really good folks … lots of suggestions that hadn’t leapt automatically to my mind …. there’s some leeks sitting in the fridge wondering what I’m going to do with them.

Keep them coming …

[liketocook]

Smoked haddock, leek and pea is lovely as is brocoli and blue cheese.

[KeenCook]

OH is the risotto cook in this house I don't think I've ever made one.

He prides himself on being able to create a delicious one from just about anything we have around!

One of the things he frequently does is, eg, make a squash risotto orange by cooking the squash with herbs or whatever, and then liquidising it with the Bamix, and then using it together with the stock. Squash and sage is a delicious and pretty trad one. He fries sage leaves until they're crisp and puts them on top.

He does that with peas, as well, creating a wonderful, vibrant green dish!

He's very keen on a seafood risotto, using frozen seafood mixes.

He also makes "duck" risotto, where he makes a standard white risotto and serves it with seared duck breasts on top.

He is not a great recipe follower, often seeing something he likes the look of and then creating his own version.

When he emerges from his afternoon nap, I'll ask him what other varieties he likes.

ETA I love this thread