What a tart of a risotto!

The one thing I was craving during Passover was risotto!!! Any time I tried to take my mind off of it, it seemed like it was everywhere!!! So today for a simple lunch I decided to give in to my desires.

30. Lemon Risotto - *Risotto*

As I have written previously, Tom only has about six risotto recipes in the entire book. This fact plus my addiction to risotto means I will probably get through these recipes faster than the other ones. The Lemon Risotto is the easiest and most basic recipe out of all in the Risotto chapter.

It started with chopping up an onion very finely. I usually don't do a good job with this, so had some help with my mezzaluna to get my onions teensy weensy. These were sweated down with some oil for a few minutes while some water sat simmering on the next hob. (This recipe calls for water, instead of stock! -- important distinction, so pay attention, pupils, this information will become useful later!) Once the onions let off their juices, I added the rice and the zest and juice of a lemon. And then, the basic risotto making commenced. It ended with adding some butter and parmesan. And here is how it looked - I decided to fancy it up a bit by garnishing with the last remaining (and surviving) oregano leaves I had in the fridge.

Now the verdict: I really didn't love it!!! Can you believe it?! I thought there was no risotto I wouldn't love, but this was definitely not one of them! I knew something would be off with the taste because all the stock really was was lemon and water; it kinda smelled like lemon tea when I was cooking it, and I was worried the 'lemony' taste would be too much. I was right; the risotto was OK in texture, but too lemon-tasting for me. Maybe if it was paired with something fairly bland, like grilled chicken, it would have been a welcome addition of a strongly flavored item. On its own, the lemon flavor just overtook the dish. I think proper stock, whether it be chicken or vegetable, would have mellowed out the lemon taste.

I always thought Nigella's version of Lemon Risotto in Nigella Bites was quite rich (yet delicious) due to the addition of cream and butter and parmesan, but now I could see a certain richness is needed to cut the tartness of the lemon.. So that is why I declared this risotto one heck of a tart!!!

Well I haven't given up my hope; there are a couple more risotto recipes to try, and I am still looking quite forward to them!