BROCCOLI PARMESAN RISOTTO | The perfect risotto recipe!

This broccoli parmesan risotto is an unfussy yet elegant and super tasty spin on the classic dish. Now if you've never made risotto before, it's simply a creamy Italian rice recipe that also happens to be a fabulous vegetarian side dish or main. Risotto on its own is wonderful, but it's also a blank slate for a wide variety of seasonal ingredients and flavors, and you know I'm all about sneaking in more veggies wherever possible. So let me show you how to make this broccoli parmesan risotto recipe. To get started, you'll need to dice up half of an onion. The onion adds flavor and texture to the risotto, and after it's sauteed, it sort of just melts right into the rice. You could also swap in some diced shallots for a more delicate flavor, but just don't use a red onion because that can change the color of the dish. And once you've got the onion all chopped up, add it to a prep bowl and set it aside for now. Next, you'll need about four to five cups of broccoli florets, which you should be able to get from one large bunch of broccoli or a couple of smaller heads. And when in doubt, maybe just grab an extra small head for good measure. I have a large four-cup measuring cup, and you can see that it's rounded on top, so it's about five cups of florets. Add the florets to a food processor and pulse them a few times until you have broccoli rice. I like it processed fairly finely so there's no large chunks of broccoli remaining. That way, there's also more green flecks of broccoli dispersed throughout the risotto in the final dish. And side note, I do have a separate recipe on my website for broccoli rice that is sauteed, if you're interested, because it really is a great way to sneak broccoli into a variety of different meals. And then lastly, you'll need to roughly chop up about two tablespoons of fresh parsley. You'll stir some into the risotto, and then I like a little bit extra for garnishing on top at the end. Now, one important detail when making risotto is to make sure that your broth is warm when adding it to the rice, ladle by ladle. So bring six cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth to a low simmer in a separate pot on the stove. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large saute pan or braiser pan over medium heat, like this Le Creuset one, which is one of my most used pieces of cookware in my kitchen, by the way, so I'll link it below. Add the onion to the pan and saute it for four to five minutes or until it's softened and becoming translucent. Then add four garlic cloves, and you can mince those right into the pan, and half a teaspoon of kosher salt. I like to split my salt when making risotto and add a little bit at the beginning and then a little bit more at the end. Then stir that all together for another 30 seconds or so until it's combined. Add two cups of Arborio rice, and whatever you do, do not rinse the rice beforehand. The whole point of risotto is to have a creamy, starchy rice dish, and if you rinse the rice, you can end up with a dish that's more watery and thin, and you don't want that. Stir the rice for a minute to lightly toast it and let it absorb all the natural moisture from the onion. All right, now it's time to add some liquid. Add one cup of a dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, to deglaze the pan. Now if you're alcohol-free, you can always swap this with more broth, but if you're not alcohol-free, I do prefer adding the wine as it adds a nice floral touch and a bit more depth to the dish. Then just stir that for about two to three minutes until all of the liquid has absorbed into the rice. So once it looks like this and there's no residual liquid in the pan, add a cup of broth, which for me is about two ladles full of broth. Stir this pretty constantly for about three to four minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed. After the liquid is fully absorbed, you can add another cup of broth and just keep repeating this process, slowly adding more broth and letting it absorb, which should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Risotto is a bit more labor-intensive than other dishes just due to the constant stirring, but it's not at all difficult. So just take your time and go slow and don't try to rush the process because it's the slow process that makes for the creamiest risotto texture. Now, when you get to the last cup of broth, you'll add the broccoli rice to the risotto at the same time. Because the broccoli is so small, it doesn't take much time at all to cook and it will get perfectly soft and tender with this last addition of broth. So stir that together until the broth is all absorbed. At this point, you can remove the risotto from the heat, then add one cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. And please do use fresh, authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano and not grated Parmesan for the best flavor. Then add the parsley, the remaining half teaspoon of salt, three tablespoons of butter, and some freshly ground black pepper. Now, as I mentioned at the beginning, this is not an overly rich risotto, but if you do like an extra creamy, rich texture, feel free to add a splash or two of heavy cream at the end here and then stir that in. Or you can always add a bit more broth if you prefer a looser texture to a thicker texture. As always, just feel free to tweak things to your liking. Sometimes, if I'm hosting a dinner party and serving this up more as a side dish along with a bunch of other options, I'll just serve up the risotto in this big braiser pan on the dinner table as it's such a pretty dish. And then garnish it with a bit more fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano and parsley for an added pop of green, plus a little bit more ground black pepper. And then let everyone serve themselves. There are about six full servings in this recipe, but you can get even more if you're just serving it as a side dish. But if I'm serving it up as a main course, I'll usually divvy up the portions into bowls and then top each individual portion with cheese, parsley, and freshly ground black pepper. But no matter how you serve it up, this is one hearty vegetarian recipe that is perfect for cooler weather. And I mean, who doesn't love a broccoli Parmesan flavor combination? I know that I sure do. And this makes for the perfect lunchtime after filming a meal today. That is delicious. And I love that it is not overly thick and rich. A lot of risottos have, I would say, a lot of cream and a lot of cheese. I think this one is perfectly balanced. So it's starchy and creamy, but it's also not going to weigh you down. Now, because I've got some wine leftover, you can serve up a glass of white wine with this for dinner, or you can use the leftover wine in other recipes. I know I have a couple on my site, but why don't you guys let me know in the comments below what you would use white wine for in cooking. I'm just going to drink this one. So cheers. And lastly, in terms of storage, because this does make a good quantity, if you do happen to have leftovers, it will stay good for about four to five days in the fridge. I hope you guys love this broccoli Parmesan risotto recipe as much as I do. And I feel like this is a theme of more risotto recipes coming your way. Maybe we need a new recipe for every season. And side note, I also have a butternut squash risotto in my cookbook that is perfect for fall. So you can make that one as well. And I'm thinking maybe a lemon asparagus one for spring. But on that note, thank you guys for watching today's video. If you liked it, make sure to give it a thumbs up as that always helps to support my channel. And I will see you guys again in the next video.