Eat Like True Italians And Add Potatoes To Your Risotto

Italian cuisine is known for dishes that are perfect in their simplicity. Risotto is one such iconic dish that has a very basic foundation, relying on technique and quality ingredients. Of course, Italians have branched out from the key ingredients of arborio rice, wine, broth, butter, and parmesan, creating regional and seasonal varieties with different vegetables, herbs, meat, and seafood. Risotto con le patate, or potato risotto, is a popular and hearty Italian recipe that you probably haven't tried, but it's as true to Italian culinary traditions as mushroom or seafood risotto.

The beauty of potato risotto is that it contains starch from the rice and the potatoes, resulting in a super creamy, super comforting dish. Different recipes for potato risotto provide various ways you can incorporate potatoes and the starch they secrete into the rice. Most Italian recipes call for peeled, cubed potatoes like Yukon golds or a waxy potato that will hold its shape when boiled or simmered.

You can start the risotto by frying the potato cubes with aromatics and simmering them for a few minutes before adding the arborio rice. The simmering liquid ladled into the rice will take on the starch from the potatoes and rice as they continue to cook together. Another method would be to parboil the potatoes, reserving the starch-filled cooking liquid to ladle over the rice in this simple parmesan risotto recipe. You can add the cooked potato cubes with the parmesan cheese and butter to the fully cooked rice.

Potatoes not only bring a creamier consistency and hearty decadence to risotto, but their earthy savoriness is the perfect complement to the nuttiness of the rice and parmesan cheese. They're also neutral enough to pair with countless other ingredients and seasonings. Potatoes are a popular ingredient in the northern Italian region of Liguria, as we demonstrate in our recipe for Ligurian pesto pasta with green beans. You could add green beans and a drizzle of this bright and fresh pesto recipe to potato risotto.

Rosemary and lemon zest would also complement the earthiness of potatoes and the dairy richness. You could bring potato risotto into a main course realm by adding bacon or pancetta and peas to the mix. Combine traditional recipes by adding seafood to potato risotto. Baby spinach is another easy addition that you can stir in with the parmesan and butter for a pop of green and texture.

Modern twists on potato risotto leave rice out of the recipe completely and instead utilize the cooking method to create a potato dish with the same creamy, sauciness as its rice counterpart. If you attempt this technique, you'll want to use russets instead of waxy potatoes because they contain the most starch. You'll toast cubed and peeled russets with the aromatics just as you would with the rice before hitting them with a splash of white wine and subsequent gradual ladlefuls of broth.