Roasted Garlic Black Pepper Risotto

 

I could make and eat risotto just about every day. It’s fun to watch a pan of raw Arborio rice and a pot of simmering broth become a warm and comforting dish. It works as a side dish or a main dish on its own, so it’s suitable for any meal. It can take on so many different flavorings and add-ins that it would never become tiresome if, you know, you really did decide to make it and eat it every day.

My most recent risotto excursion featured roasted garlic and black pepper, which was so delicious I just had to tell you about it. As much as I love roasted garlic, I was still very pleasantly surprised by how good this was. I roasted a head of garlic and stirred the resulting mellow but flavorful paste in to basic risotto made with just a bit of shallot, dry white wine, and vegetable broth. While roasting garlic takes out a lot of its sharp, assertive bite, a whole head of it infuses a simple pan of rice with plenty of luscious flavor. That garlicky goodness even stands up well to a big punch from freshly cracked peppercorns, which give each bite a finishing and lingering buzz.

 

While all that garlic and peppercorn bring plenty of flavor, some fresh herbs would be at home here, too. A different cheese might also be good in place of the Parmesan I used, although I’d go with something mild rather than sharp. Chicken broth would be good in place of the vegetable broth, and you could go without the wine if you don’t tend to have any on hand. (I like to use one I can drink alongside my risotto during the meal.)

I used a different vegetable broth than I usually do, and it was saltier, resulting in a risotto that was a bit on the salty side. I love salty, so I didn’t care, but next time I will taste my broth before I start, and decide whether additional salt is needed. I tried to reflect that sensibility in the recipe below, and recommend you work from personal taste here.

While this seems to finally be the beginning of the end of winter, it was very cold and snowy when I made this recipe. My household has also been sick. This big punch of flavor nestled into a smooth, soft, comforting dish was just what we needed to continue to believe in anything good. I now know just the recipe to turn to when things get rough for us again next winter. Not that cold and snowy is required. This great Roasted Garlic and Black Pepper Risotto will be delicious all year.

Roasted Garlic Risotto with Black Pepper

Adjust the added salt as needed based on the sodium content of the broth you use in the recipe. Chicken broth would be good in place of the vegetable broth, too.

1 medium-size head garlic

Olive oil for roasting garlic

5 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste, depending on how salty your broth is)

1 cup Arborio Rice

½ cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper (or to taste), plus more for serving

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove the papery outer covering from the garlic head, while keeping the cloves intact. Slice a small amount off the top of the garlic head, exposing a bit of the cloves. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 F for about 1 hour, or until very soft. Remove from the oven, and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft roasted garlic out of the skins. Mash to form a paste. Set aside.

2.  I a medium-size saucepan, heat the vegetable broth to a simmer. Reduce the heat and keep the broth hot, but not boiling.

3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until it is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the ½ teaspoon salt (or salt to taste) and the rice. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

4. Add about ½ cup hot broth. Cook, stirring frequently until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid. Continue to add the broth ½ cup at a time and stirring the rice until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, but not yet mushy. You may wish to stop cooking when there is still a bit of a bite in the middle of the rice grains. I prefer my risotto rice quite soft. You may not need all of the broth to cook the rice. The whole process will take 20-30 minutes.

5. Stir in the roasted garlic, Parmesan, and 1 tablespoon (or to taste) black pepper. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve sprinkled with additional black pepper.

Makes 4 main dish servings, or 6-8 side dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Spring Vegetable Risotto, Zucchini Cheddar Risotto

Another recipe featuring roasted garlic: Cheddar Bacon White Bean Salad