Recently, I was looking for carrot recipes and ran across this one for Caramelized Carrot Risotto. Since roasted carrots are one of my favorite winter side dishes and risotto is my favorite rice dish, I knew I had to make this recipe. While not a quick dish to make, it is definitely comfort food. The flavors are simple, mild and perfect for springtime. Husband called it Creamy Goodness…I totally agree!

Caramelized Carrot Risotto
-recipe from Sunset Magazine

It’s made the traditional way, but this risotto hits some extraordinary flavor notes, mainly because of two not-so-common risotto ingredients. One is creamy sweet mascarpone cheese. The other is carrots, slow cooked in a butter-oil bath until their sugars caramelize.

Note: To make this risotto even prettier, you can cut the carrots into 1/4-in. dice (it’s time-consuming, but makes the carrots look like little jewels). Mascarpone — a rich Italian-style cream cheese available at specialty, gourmet, and Whole Foods stores — can be replaced with an equal amount of heavy cream.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings as a side dish or first course

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped as finely and evenly as possible (about 3 cups; see Notes)
About 1/2 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon sugar
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese (I used heavy cream)
1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese, plus 1/2 cup for garnish
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 tbsp. for garnish
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Heat 1 tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat in a medium heavy-bottomed pot; add carrots and stir with a wooden spoon until well coated. Add 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp. salt, and the sugar; cover and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until water evaporates and carrots are just starting to brown, a few minutes more. Reserve half of the carrots. In a blender, purée other half with 3/4 cup hot water.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer and keep at a simmer, covered, over low heat.

Heat remaining oil and butter over medium heat in same (unwashed) pot used for carrots. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice, stirring with a wooden spoon to coat rice with oil, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until wine evaporates. Add carrot purée and cook, stirring, until mixture no longer looks soupy.

Add 1/2 cup hot broth, stirring often, until rice absorbs most of the liquid. Repeat process, adding 1/2 cup broth at a time and stirring often till each addition is absorbed before adding the next, until rice is al dente (about 20 minutes; at least 1 cup broth will remain).

Fold in reserved carrots (save 2 tbsp. for garnish), mascarpone, 1/4 cup parmesan, 1 tbsp. parsley, and the thyme. Add up to 1 cup broth (1/4 cup at a time) to loosen the risotto. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Sprinkle each bowl of risotto with some of remaining 1/2 cup parmesan, remaining 1 tbsp. parsley, and reserved carrots. Serve immediately.

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Tags: Arborio rice, caramelized carrots, Italian, rice, risotto, vegetarian

If you like mushrooms, you’re going to LOVE this risotto! Like all risotto recipes, it does take some effort but, boy, is it worth it: it’s hearty, earthy and delicious!

I basically followed the recipe with a few minor substitutions. I used turkey Italian sausage and substituted Marsala wine for the Madeira. For the mushrooms, I used 6 oz. portobello, 8 oz. crimini and 4 oz. shiitake…a total of 18 ounces. I sauteed the onion and garlic in 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter instead of a whole stick. If you can’t find Asiago cheese, just use Parmesan. A drizzle of truffle oil would put this risotto over the top!

Italian Sausage and Wild Mushroom Risotto
-recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine from Tuscany, Salt Lake City, UT

At the restaurant, this dish is served as a starter. It would also make a great main course for four. Makes 8 first-course servings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed, crumbled into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces portobello mushrooms, stemmed, dark gills scraped out, caps diced
10 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 cups Madeira (I used Marsala)

6 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I used 1/2 stick, or 4 tablespoons)
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups arborio rice or other medium-grain rice (about 13 ounces)
1 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add all mushrooms, thyme, and oregano and sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup Madeira; boil until almost absorbed, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Bring stock to simmer in large saucepan; remove from heat and cover to keep hot. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup Madeira; simmer until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup hot stock; simmer until almost absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding more stock by cupfuls, stirring often and allowing most stock to be absorbed before adding more, about 25 minutes. Stir in sausage mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. Pass cheese separately.

Tags: arborio, Asiago cheese, chicken broth, Italian, italian sausage, Madeira, Main Dish, Marsala, onion, oregano, portobello mushrooms, rice, risotto, shiitake mushrooms, Side Dish, thyme, wild mushrooms

In my book, risotto is comfort food…kind of like mashed potatoes or mac & cheese. I love just about any version of this creamy rice dish. One night recently when Husband was busy and the kids were engrossed in a movie, I decided to make some risotto just for me.

I took stock of what I had on hand and decided to make Fresh Corn Risotto, which is basically just arborio rice (a starchy, Italian short-grain rice), corn and a few other simple ingredients. Seeing as we’re at the end of January, I substituted Trader Joe’s Frozen White Corn for the off-the-cob variety (way out of season). I waited on adding the thawed frozen corn until the very end of cooking, stirring it in to the risotto then adding the butter and Parmesan cheese. Now if you’ve never made risotto before, you have to know that this is not a dish you can multi-task with. You pretty much have to devote the time to standing at the stove while you stir the rice and add the stock. It’s not difficult but it does demand your attention. A steaming bowl of hot risotto is worth every ounce of effort, in my opinion, and this Friday night corn risotto did not disappoint.

Fresh Corn Risotto
-recipe from foodandwine.com

SERVINGS: 6

6 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio rice (12 ounces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup white corn kernels (from 2 ears)
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil with the bay leaf. Keep the stock warm over very low heat.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring until opaque, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook, stirring, until completely absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the warm stock and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1 cup at a time and stirring until it is absorbed
between additions. After about half of the stock has been added, stir in the corn, then add the remaining stock. The rice is done when it’s al dente and creamy, about 25 minutes total. Stir in the cheese and butter; season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf and serve.

Tags: corn, rice, risotto