Risotto

Let summer squash be itself for once in this creamy zucchini risotto recipe.

Vibrant extra-virgin olive oil, instead of butter, adds the finishing touch to this lemon risotto.

Make this shrimp risotto for a weeknight dinner. With bright flavor from lemon zest and fresh asparagus, it’s an ideal meal for spring.

If any risotto could be a summer dish, it’s this one, topped with perfectly caramelized scallops and flavored with fresh basil and pineapple juice.

The Italian word for the ideal risotto texture is all’onda—literally, “like a wave.” Risotto should spread and move and undulate. If you can stand a spoon up in it, it needs more liquid.

Miso and a paprika-packed squash purée makes this dairy-free risotto hearty and satisfying. Double or triple the squash purée, and use it in other meals throughout the week.

Finally, a creamy, buttery risotto without all of the stirring. Just pop it in the oven and roast some mushrooms alongside to top off the finished dish.

Making risotto in an electric pressure cooker means no stirring and no ladling of stock one cup at a time. Just get it going on high pressure, walk away, and make a drink.

Risotto is an Italian term describing a unique way to cook rice. Basically, the rice is cooked in broth or another liquid until it and the liquid swell to a creamy union. With this version of risotto, I use the same cooking method with cauliflower rice, thereby subtracting the calories and the carbs you'd get from rice.

This spring-themed dish works perfectly as an entrée or as a side dish.

A last-minute addition of basil pesto turns creamy risotto into the ultimate bowl of spring comfort.

To mimic a traditional risotto, this grain-free version first simmers sunflower seeds to soften them to a rice-like texture, then purées a portion of them to create a creamy sauce. You can easily follow the sunflower cooking method for a basic go-to grain-free risotto, then swap in whatever seasonal vegetables you'd like to top it with.

This risotto is dotted with beautiful green spring vegetables and makes a lovely vegetarian lunch or dinner. Delicious with a roasted beet and arugula salad, it's simple to make. There is no arduous stirring; the rice cooker takes care of everything.

This is an elegant risotto that's fairly straightforward, though a bit messy if you're using red beets. Yellow or red, the color is spectacular and the taste will have those averse to eating beets rethinking the root. If you are following our $68 Dinner Story, reserve the greens from the beets for the Fettuccine with Asparagus, Beet Green Pesto, and Poached Egg .

Adaptions to the original recipe: Prepare any store-bought risotto Fold in a little celery root pureé(vegetable stock and diced celery root cooked until tender, then blended smooth with a little butter added) at the end of cooking would be great. Then omit the more difficult things to make like the distilled apple juice.

No offense to traditional risotto lovers, but risotto made with amaranth is so much easier because it doesn't require 20 minutes of near-constant stirring. Just leave your amaranth to bubble slowly on the back of the stove, while you sauté our mushrooms for the buttery topping. Dried porcini mushrooms bump up the woodsy flavor of the topping, while their soaking liquid becomes a deep, mushroomy stock in which to cook the amaranth. This risotto is ideal for Meatless Mondays and will please all your vegan friends to boot, but if you are craving some cheese, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of Parmesan stirred into the risotto at the end will give it that extra boost that only Parmesan can deliver. Or keep it vegan and pass a bowl of grated cheese separately for those who want it.

This is a winning-contestant recipe from Season Four of FOX's MasterChef.

I prefer caramel that flirts on the edge of burnt, especially in this rice pudding, which is inspired by classic Italian risotto. Here, cooked until it's very dark, with a smoky, bitter edge, the caramel balances the milky sweetness of the rice. This is also an unusual pudding in that it forgoes much of the milkiness of the other grain puddings in this chapter. I cook the rice in water, with just a little milk. The liquid is gradually evaporated when the rice is mixed with the caramel, leaving an intensely flavored sauce. This is very rich pudding, but that quality comes almost entirely from the caramel itself—not the dairy.

Cassy Vires, Home Wine Kitchen, St. Louis: "I like to take a classic pairing and turn it on its head."

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Italian classics, check out the videos.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Italian classics, check out the videos.

Soft, creamy risotto topped with warm roasted vegetables makes a complete meal in a bowl. If you don't like the idea of standing at the stove and stirring risotto to a perfect consistency, this is the method for you. Thirty minutes in the oven and this risotto comes out cooked to perfection while you and your beloved wind down from your day. If you've made Roasted Winter Vegetables earlier in the week, you can reheat leftovers as a topping here. If not, roast a favorite combination {mine is winter squash, yellow onion, and tomato} in the oven with your risotto.

If you’re cooking for someone special, you won’t find many dishes more romantic than this one. It looks sophisticated, tastes rich, and makes a real statement. It’s one of my standbys when I want to make a cozy dinner for me and my husband.