Risotto is very easy to prepare the dish. It can perfectly be composed as a separate dish, then it is a one-pot dish, or as an addition, as in this case. Lemon risotto is perfect as an addition to fish. I always recommend it with grilled salmon in a wholegrain mustard marinade.
How to choose the best ingredients for lemon risotto
Rice: there are two types of rice available on the market suitable for Arborio or Carnaroli risotto. Risotto rice is characterized by a large amount of starch, which guarantees the stickiness of the dish, so I do not advise you to use another type of rice.
White wine: white wine is only dry, although, in my opinion, it does not have to be of very high quality. The wine gives the risotto a slightly sour aftertaste. However, it strengthens the lemon flavors even more in this case, so I do not recommend omitting this ingredient.
Vegetable broth: vegetable broth is best prepared by yourself. It can be used not only for risottos but also for delicious cream soups. It can also be used as a base for sauces. You can find a simple recipe with the usual ingredients on my blog. The broth must be hot when making the risottos.
Tarragon: Tarragon is a perfect herb for lemon dishes. It is excellent and additionally emphasizes the lemon flavor.
Onion: the onion slightly enhances the risotto taste, but as a result, it is practically invisible. Therefore, we add the most ordinary brown onions to the risotto.
Olive oil: I always recommend a good quality olive with extra virgin.
Unsalted butter: Butter and just the butter for the risotto. It has to be butter without any additions.
Lemon juice: squeeze the lemon juice fresh, and here I would not replace lemon juice with lime juice because it has a more delicate flavor. This risotto is supposed to be very lemon.
Grated lemon peel: grated lemon peel by rubbing lemon peel. The lemon is to be washed very well under cold water and then scrubbed to eliminate all impurities. Even if you have an organic lemon, it should be washed well. Grated lemon peel will give the lemon risotto a fantastic aroma, and I would rather not omit it in the ingredients.
Turmeric powder: turmeric powder is not so much flavorful as it is a beautiful yellow shade. No, it is called Indian saffron for a reason.
Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese is perfect. It can be any parmesan type of hard maturing cheese, e.g. Grana Padano.
Tips and tricks
- The risotto stock can be portioned and frozen. You can keep it in the freezer for up to several months.
- To keep the risotto broth warm all the time, you can keep it on shallow heat or in a faulty bath.
Lemon risotto
Ingredients
- 150 gr rice for risotto: Arborio or Carnaroli
- 70 ml white wine
- 500 ml vegetable broth
- 1 tsp tarragon
- 1 1 onion
- 50 gr unsalted butter
- the juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp grated lemon peel
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 40-50 gr grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Attention! The vegetable broth is best kept hot all the time so that the rice does not cool down during cooking. The only time the rice is chilled is when we add white wine.
- If you are making a grated lemon rind, first wash the lemons well in cold water and then drain the hot water. Then we will avoid the situation that the chemicals sprinkled on the lemon during transport will get to our dish.
- Fry the diced onion in a deep pot in olive oil.
- When the onion is ready, add the rice. Spread the rice until the grains are slightly white and coated in olive oil. It takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Then add turmeric and tarragon. At this stage, you can also add the grated lemon peel.
- If you have a fresh tarragon branch, you can add it to your dish. This version will enrich the aroma of our risotto.
- When the rice is ready, add white wine.
- Later, every 10 minutes, add portions of vegetable broth (I am adding one vase) until the rice becomes soft.
- Finally, when the rice is ready, add the butter. Leave for 10 minutes, covered, but do not boil anymore, then add the Parmesan and lemon juice. Mix everything thoroughly.Bon Appetit