Spring risotto

Despite the weather hasn't made up its mind yet, we are in the spring and some days are getting really warm. To enhance our spring mood we are sharing our lemon and ginger risotto recipe 😋 However we would like to underline how oranges, mandarins and lemons make for great all year long risottos!

By the way, this will be our Easter risotto 😜

Lemon and fresh ginger risotto

For the risotto base and quantities click here, as always any variety of rice  grain will do 😉

• we love to use lemon, but you are welcome to try the citrus you have access to
• vegetable stock is better, otherwise, chicken stock
• for a change, sub the white wine with gin when sautéing the rice
• a pinch of turmeric adds a great golden hue and wonderful nutritional benefits, but it's optional
• if you add turmeric don't forget a bit of pepper and 
• 1 generous spoonful of ricotta cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream or any other mild fresh cheese; vegans: sub with coconut milk 
• fresh grated ginger (optional) for a full spring flavor 👌

For the carnivores:
you can easily add some flavor by sautéing the rice together with some bacon or Italian speck in the very first phase of your risotto prep.

The procedure is very basic: after sauteing the rice with the gin, you just prepare a regular risotto base. If you wish to, add the turmeric at this point.
After allowing 5 minutes to simmer the stock, as it is fully absorbed by the rice, add the juice of two lemons with their grated zest, or an equal quantity of mandarin or orange juice and grated zest.

As the risotto cooking is complete, add one rich tablespoon of cream cheese, or ricotta cheese, or any mild fresh cheese or coconut milk to allow the absorption of the turmeric.
After stirring well, add a bit of pepper to activate the turmeric, grate some fresh ginger right on top and fold it in.
Let the risotto rest for 5 minutes.

Grate your desired amount of parmesan cheese (optional) and stir well before serving.

You'll be surprised at how wonderfully spring-like this risotto is thanks to its fresh lemon or citrus scent and that nice freshly grated ginger root 😍 

scooter parking under the blooming tree in Turin

Pairings:

You can pair it with a great fruity and richly scented white wine from Piedmont like: Favorita, Gavi, Timorasso or Erbaluce di Caluso. These are some of the wines you can also use to sauté the rice with.
A mild white beer will do too and, if you are into cocktails, even a vermouth 😝, especially if you are making rice patties for your brunch 🙆

gorgeous Art Nouveau Casa La Fleur in Turin

Come master your risotto art with us here in Turin, add one of our experiential private tours, tastings and privates to enhance your Italian trip.

E-mail Lucia: turinepi@gmail.com