Lemon Parmesan Risotto

There are so many ways to prepare Risotto, from adding in fresh herbs to adding in various cheeses, seafood and seasoned meats. It is so much fun jazzing it up, but I also like the simpler more basic flavors with lots of cheese of course!

The only downside to Risotto is it is addicting and goes straight to your hips! i have to walk five miles to undo the sweet damage. Risotto does require a little effort and some babysitting. Figure in this into your plan because you will be hovering over the pot for a good 30 minutes. Hey, you can burn a few calories stirring this before it ever hits your lips.

You will need:

1 cup of Aborio rice

3 cups of chicken stock

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon of butter

1/2 cup of Parmigiana-Reggiano

1/2 medium onion finely chopped

2 teaspoons of lemon zest

Juice from one lemon

Salt and Pepper

Saute the onion in the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.

Add in the Aborio rice. Coat the rice the the butter and oil and saute for about 3 minutes.

Add in one cup of chicken stock. Continuously stirring until almost all of the the liquid is absorbed; then add in the second cup of stock. Keep stirring until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.

Add in the third cup of chicken stock along with the lemon juice, the lemon zest and the parm. Keep stirring and once the liquid is almost completely absorbed, season with salt and pepper to taste.

There are few things more perfectly simple than Risotto.