Risotto recipes

How can I cook a healthy risotto? Aren't they normally full of cream, butter and lardons?

A mushroom rissotto with creme fraiche is great. Just add a few extra veg like spinach and red onion. It tastes great. Or cut out the creamy ingredients and choose a tomatoe based sauce.

That sounds nice! I love making risotto but I never use cream or butter, I just cook the onion and garlic in olive oil, add rice and stock, then add some vegetables (like mushrooms) and a bit of cheese. Using a tomato based sauce is good too as CescaMc said. You can make a tomato risotto and add passata in place of some of the stock which is really nice.

Proper risotto shouldn't use butter or cream, the rice is supposed to be 'of creamy texture' but that's as far as it should go! It's not unusual to add a bit of parmesan before serving though for some risottos. My favourite is wild mushroom. To soften the rice I use stock and a splash of white wine.

Yeah I never use cream or butter as it has quite a creamy consistency anyway. I love mushroom, cherry tomato and butternut squash ristottos. Think I make risotto about once a week coz it's so easy to make and really healthy.

There's nothing worse than undercooked rice though! Risottos need to be really gooey and moist -I don't like it when the rice is too nutty.

Truffle oil is a great addition to any rissotto, I love jamie olivers mushroom risotto recipe

Agree with the comments - no cream in risottos - no, no. Cheese is a must for me unless it contradicts the flavours - I do a risotto with roasted tomatoes and courgettes which I would not add cheese to apart from maybe a touch on top.

Two tips:

1) If you are adding flavoured oils drizzle on at the end as otherwise a lot of the flavour is lost to evaporation

2) Use vermouth instead of wine for a smoother finish (about 50mls of vermouth for a four serving job I'd say but not sure coz I tend to just free pour!). 

I agree with the vermouth, we only tend to use wine as we don't drink a lot and it's easier to buy a small bottle and finish it off in a different recipe!

Sorry to sound like a total non-foody but what is vermouth? I'm really craving risotto now! Also -would anyone add goats cheese to risotto or would that not work?

It's fortified wine, it's unusual as it's dry and sweet at the same time with a smooth finish. (Cheap martini!)

I wouldn't add goats cheese, it's too creamy. I would only use a sprinkle of parmesan or similar strongly-flavoured hard cheese to set the flavours off, even then you only need a tiny amount.

I always use goats cheese as I can't eat cow's dairy and it tastes really nice. Also Ive got loads of recipes that tell you to use goats cheese, so it's fine to use.

Cheese is definitely a preference thing, with risotto i like lots of fresh herby and woody flavour

I love blue cheese, but somehow I can't see this working in a risotto. Has anyone tried it?

I've never tried it and wouldn't have thought it would work either (although I love blue cheese) but I just did a google search and found loads of recipes for blue cheese risotto! There was a Nigella Lawson one for bacon, leek and blue cheese risotto and one for beetroot and blue cheese risotto. If you give it a go I'd love to hear if it's nice or not!