Mascarpone Risotto Recipe

If you ever tried to make the Italian dessert tiramisu at home, you already know one of its main ingredients: mascarpone. You wouldn’t imagine how versatile mascarpone is in the kitchen: it can be used for each part of the dinner, not only for desserts, but also for appetizers and main courses. In this article I will present a delicious first course with this Italian cheese:

Risotto with Mascarpone

Ingredients for four people

1 liter (2 pints) vegetable stock
30gr (1 oz) butter
255gr (8 oz) mascarpone
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
100gr (3½ oz) grated Parmesan
a handful of grains of pink pepper
350gr risotto rice (for example Carnaroli)
Salt
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 glass of dry white wine

In a pan, heat the vegetable stock. Add the shallot and the oil to a large pan and let it sauté on a medium-low heat until lucid (about 7-10 minutes). Turn up the heat and add the rice, let it toast for two minutes, always stirring. Add the wine, let the alcohol evaporate then turn down the heat again to low-medium. Add the first two ladles of stock and let it evaporate almost completely before adding the other two. After about 8 minuets, add the mascarpone and stir. The total cooking time for the rice should be 17 minutes. So adjust the stock to get the right texture for the risotto. It shouldn’t be too liquid nor too thick, and  if you move the pan it should actually do a “wave”. Two minutes before cooking time is over, add the grains of pink pepper, add salt if necessary. Take the risotto off the heat add the butter and the Parmesan and, without stirring, close with a lid. Let it rest for two minute, then  give it a good stir and serve immediately.

photo credit: Sebastian Mary

I mentioned tiramisu at the beginning of this post. Here are two examples you may like: an easy tiramisu recipe and a raspberry tiramisu.