Lemon Risotto

A risotto is a dish, often served as an appetizer in Italy, that consists of rice slowly cooked in a broth.  The end result should be creamy, and not mushy.  I had made a risotto last year that involved shrimp and scallops, and it had tasted pretty good.

This risotto involved heating chicken broth and lemon juice so it would be ready to be poured into the rice. In a saute pan, shallots were cooked in butter, and rice was added to toast slightly.  Wine and lemon juice are added to the mix to be absorbed by the rice, and then the broth was added until the rice was done.

One of the things I had trouble figuring out was when the rice was actually cooked correctly.  I had run out of liquid and had started to create more when I decided the rice was a good level of al dente.  Part of my concern was also that the instructions said to cook for 20 minutes, and my liquid had only lasted 10.

After I had decided the rice was cooked, I added more butter, parmesan cheese, mascarpone, and lemon juice to complete the dish.

The final product had a very rich flavor, but I found that I couldn't eat the proportion on my plate.  This would definitely fare well as a side dish, and I wonder how well it would pair with the lemon pesto chicken I made last summer.  I'm going to try it with a smaller proportion next time paired with the chicken.