Sweet Risotto
Ingredients
3 cups
water
3 cups
whole milk
1 tsp.
Kowalski's Organic Madagascar Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla Paste), optional
¼ tsp.
kosher salt
2 tbsp.
(up to 3 tbsp.)
Kowalski's Unsalted Butter
2 cups
risotto rice (such as Arborio or Carnaroli)
1 cup
sweet wine or liqueur (such as Marsala wine, Kahlúa, amaretto or orange liqueur), optional
1 cup
brown or granulated sugar (or to taste)
- stir-ins, your choice (such as ½ cup raisins, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground nutmeg, banana slices, chopped walnuts and Kowalski's Pure Honey)
1 cup
(up to 1 ½ cups)
heavy cream (or half-and-half), warmed
Directions
- In a small saucepan, bring water, milk, vanilla and salt to a simmer; keep cooking liquid warm but do not boil.
- In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add rice; sauté for 5 min.
- Add wine; cook and stir until liquid evaporates.
- Add 2 cups cooking liquid to rice. Cook until liquid is nearly absorbed (about 5 min.; if liquid takes much longer or much less than 5 min. to absorb, adjust heat up or down slightly).
- Add another 1 cup cooking liquid; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is nearly absorbed again (about 5 min.).
- Continue adding liquid 1 cup at a time, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender (about 20 min. more).
- Stir in sugar until dissolved.
- Add stir-ins; continue cooking and stirring until heated through.
- Divide risotto among individual serving dishes; pour warm cream on top. Serve immediately while risotto is very hot.
Tasty Tips:
- More or less cooking liquid may be needed depending on your stove and the shape and size of your pan. If necessary, add hot water at the end of cooking until risotto reaches desired tenderness and consistency.
- To serve as a dessert, cook risotto until the last addition of liquid (step 6); remove pan from heat and set aside while you enjoy your dinner. When it’s time to serve dessert, return pan to heat and add the last bit of warm cooking liquid to the pan. Cook and stir for up to 5 min. until rice is tender and dish is creamy but still a touch runny. Stir in sugar; finish cooking as directed.
Good to Know:
- In Italy, risotto is served all'onda, which means "wavy." Ideally, the rice is loose enough to ripple gently when the serving dish is moved, light enough to fall easily from your spoon, and never sticky or overly thick. For this reason, Italians typically serve risotto on plates instead of bowls to better showcase its slightly loose consistency.
