Lemon-Parsley Risotto

When people ask me my favorite thing to cook, I always respond with Risotto. I love how versatile it is, and always experiment with new ingredients and flavors.

I make risotto year round, so in the warmer months I like to play with lighter flavors in my risotto. My favorites in the winter are heavier - like shiitake mushrooms, gorgonzola, and black truffles. So for a lighter dish tonight, I decided to use up some fresh parsley and lemons from the weekend.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 c arborio rice
• 1/3 c white wine
• 4 c low sodium chicken broth (vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp light cream
• 1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
• Handful chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Lemon zest

Directions

• Heat chicken broth
• Melt butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat
• Add shallots and garlic; saute 3 min
• Add rice and toss until coated
• Add wine and stir until absorbed
• Add 1 ladle of broth and stir until absorbed. Continue to add broth 1 ladle at a time until you have used all of the broth, or until rice is cooked through, but not mushy. This process should take about 18-20 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the cream
• Add the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and parsley
• Plate the risotto and zest the lemon over it; top with parsley

I served the risotto along side chicken marinated and grilled by Jon. He marinated chicken breasts in a mixture of olive oil, fresh garlic, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, oregano, and red pepper flakes. So delicious, and I love the grill marks -

I have one chicken breast left over and I plan on making chicken salad with it.

This risotto was the perfect spring or summer risotto. The flavors were so bright, light, and fresh.