Black Truffle Risotto

Welcome back! 

Today, we have another creamy rice dish: Risotto! This northern Italian specialty (though it's rather common in Italy), made from a unique rice that have an interesting chewy/creamy texture that makes risotto what it is. There are a countless amount of ways that you can prepare this, though mushrooms (and thus truffles) are one of the most common ingredients used with risotto.

Black Truffle Risotto

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 4 cups broth (hot)
• 1/2 cup wine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 1 ounce black truffle, chopped (but save some for garnish)
• 1/4 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic, minced

Directions:

1. In an oiled pan, saute the onion and garlic.
2. Add the rice into the pan and stir it around.
3. Add the wine and cook until most of it has been absorbed.
4. Add the truffle and mix.
5. Add one cup of broth and cook until most of it has been absorbed. Repeat this for three more cups of broth.
6. Add the butter, mascarpone cheese, and Parmesan and let it melt into the mixture. Mix it up.
7. Garnish with truffle slices and herbs.

Some commonly added vegetables are mushrooms (for those who don't have truffles), peas, and asparagus. For mushrooms, saute them with the onion and garlic and it'll be good. The peas and/or asparagus can be added before the butter and cheese so they're cooked but not too much. Another alternative for truffles is truffle oil (though some people say that this is a bad choice, since many brands of truffle oil don't actually have any truffle!). You can serve this with a variety of things; here we have it with Chicken Marsala (coming next!) and lamb shank.

Bonus: I've also had this during my trip to Italy; it was at a rest stop, though it was still really great!

Also a panna cotta!

-Chefpo