Super Easy Parmesan Risotto

OMG, you aren’t even going to believe how easy it is to make this risotto recipe! I love, love, love risotto, but never made it because I don’t have the patience to stand over it, constantly stirring. Well, wait no more people! This is your lucky day!  No constant stirring in this recipe. Yes, you heard me correctly. You do NOT have to stand over this and stir. It starts with the rice, chicken stock and dutch oven. Stick it in the oven and walk away. How easy does that sound?? You guys are so lucky that I watch a ton of the Food Network these days and can find these fabulous and easy recipes for us to try. I saw one of my friends, Barefoot Contessa, make this earlier  this week and could not wait to give it a try.  My husband is my official kitchen tester and he says this is one of the most flavorful dishes I’ve made yet. I think I’ve made some pretty tasty dishes lately so you should know that he is giving this dish super props!

I’m sure you are dying to know how I made it so here we go.....

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade, divided
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese – make sure it’s not the cheese in the jar, use freshly grated. It makes a difference.
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 small package fresh mushrooms
• 15-20 medium frozen shrimp, thawed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. I checked on mine at 40 minutes and it was done.

While rice is cooking in the oven, sauté your mushrooms and set aside. I sautéed them lightly in just a little butter (no additional seasoning) and removed with a slotted spoon.


Remove rice from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the parmesan, wine, butter, salt, and pepper, and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Add the peas, mushrooms and shrimp, and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Serves 4-6 (depending on how hungry you are!)


I think I’ll mix it up next time and try it with some pancetta. Yummy, right?


Make this.....seriously, do it very soon!