Simple Mascarpone Risotto Recipe With Lemon

Mascarpone risotto is a creamy Italian rice dish featuring mascarpone cheese. To make mascarpone risotto, stir in mascarpone cheese and Parmesan cheese after cooking the rice. The addition of mascarpone cheese makes for an extra creamy dish. Popular garnishes for mascarpone risotto include lemon zest and chives.

The key to risotto is the cooking method: Sauté the Arborio rice and then cook it on low heat as you add ladles of broth. This allows the rice to release its starches gradually, yielding a perfectly al dente result in a creamy sauce. Other common ingredients in risotto include butter, sautéed shallots, dry white wine, garlic cloves, and seasonal veggies.

Mascarpone—also known as Italian cream cheese—is a rich, spreadable cow’s milk cheese with an especially high percentage of butterfat. Mascarpone is a Renaissance-era invention from the Lombardy region of Northern Italy and a staple ingredient in Italian desserts like tiramisu.

You can make mascarpone by adding a tartaric acid or citrus acid, like lemon juice, to full-fat heavy cream, which naturally separates the curds from the whey. You then cook the curds further until they’ve taken on a smooth, creamy texture. Mascarpone relies on the addition of citric acid or tartaric acid to solidify and set.

When making mascarpone risotto, consider the following tips and substitutions:

1. 1. Add other vegetables. You can make the mascarpone risotto heartier by adding in peas or porcini mushrooms.
2. 2. Bring the cheese to room temperature. You will have an easier time stirring mascarpone cheese into the risotto if it’s at room temperature. Let the cheese sit out before you start cooking.
3. 3. Remove the risotto from heat before adding dairy. Take the risotto off the heat, and stir in the mascarpone cheese and Parmesan cheese. The fats found in dairy products can break and separate when heated.
4. 4. Use cream cheese. If mascarpone is unavailable, you can substitute it with cream cheese. If you use cream cheese, omit lemon from the recipe, which can make the risotto too tart.