Lemon Parmesan Risotto

This dish is the first of a few I made last night. I must say that this was probably the highlight of the dinner. I got the recipe out of Donna Hay's Modern Classics 1 Cookbook. This was the first dish that I've attempted from her cookbooks and I must say that I was highly impressed. I plan on cooking many more of her recipes.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Lemon Parmesan Risotto

20 g (3/4 oz) butter (I used 2 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

5 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups arborio or other risotto rice

3 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

20 g butter, extra

sea salt and cracked black pepper

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, oil and onion and cook for 6-8 minutes or until soft and golden. Place the stock in a separate saucepan. Cover and bring to a slow simmer (I just microwaved it until it was hot).

Add the rice and lemon rind to the onion mixture, stirring over medium heat for 2 minutes or until the rice is translucent (It took me a good bit longer than 2 minutes for the rice to become translucent).

Add the hot stock 1 cup at a time, stirring continuously until each cup of stock is absorbed and the rice is al dente (around 25-30 minutes). To serve, stir through the parmesan, extra butter, salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

I also topped the risotto with shrimp sauteed in olive oil, butter, and garlic.

Like I said above, this was quite delicious. This was my second try at risotto and while my first attempt was really good. This was even better. I probably ended up using more parmesan than called for, but in my world there is no such thing as too much cheese. I highly recommend the recipe, and for anyone who is intimidated by risotto, this is actually pretty simple to make just a bit time consuming.