Risotto With Pesto and Mascarpone

Submitted by Shuzbud

"This is an easy risotto recipe that goes well with steak or chicken. To add a little more flavour you could saute some finely chopped onions at the start. Try to find a good quality mascarpone as you'll get a much richer flavour. This recipe serves 4 as a side dish- if you are serving it as a main meal this recipe serves 2-3."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1⁄2 cups arborio risotto rice
• 4 1⁄4 cups chicken stock
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
• 1⁄2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 4 tablespoons pesto sauce
• salt and pepper

directions

1. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan.
2. Add the garlic and cook lightly for about a minute.
3. Over a low heat, add the rice and saute for a couple of minutes, stirring to make sure the rice is coated in butter.
4. Add the white wine and let it absorb.
5. While the rice is absorbing the wine, heat your chicken stock (this can be done at an earlier stage and kept warm if you prefer). Add the chicken stock 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring occasionally. Each time, make sure the stock is mostly absorbed before you add more or it will be a very runny risotto! The non-stick pan is important for this stage, so the rice doesn't stick when the stock is low.
6. When the stock is all absorbed, taste the risotto to make sure the rice is tender (if not, add another 1/4 cup of stock).
7. Then stir in the mascarpone and pesto. Stir until completely mixed in.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Reviews

[sofie-a-toast]

This was great and pretty simple. The pesto and mascrapone really make it stand out! It was pretty rich though so small portions were necessary. The leftovers didn't hold as well as the original.

 

[Nif_H]

Decadent and delicious! I really liked this a lot. I made this exactly as directed and it came out perfectly. It would be fun to try it with different pestos too. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe! Made for Best Of 2011. Thanks Shuzbud! :)

 

[mommymakeit4u]

Fabulous. Thought it was going to need parmesan, but it totally didn't. Nice rich, elegant flavour. Would be nice for company! Update: I made this for company and changed the servings to 6 which fed 4 people appetizer size servings. It only used about 4 cups of broth. Everyone loved it.

 

[breezermom]

This was absolutely delicious, even before adding the mascarpone and pesto! I've been on a diet, so this was a little rich for my tastes, but really delicious. It took a bit longer to cook than posted, but I didn't cover it while cooking since that wasn't in the directions. This is a really rich and flavorful risotto! Made for ZWT7!

 

[lazyme]

Yummy! I love risotto but haven't had it for awhile. This was such a great variation from what I usually make. I used a basil pesto and loved it with the mascarpone. Creamy and good. Thanks Shuzbud for a nice new keeper. Made for ZWT from a fellow Emerald City Shaker.