Risotto is a classic Italian rice dish, as versatile as it is delicious. Here are 13 risotto recipes to help you make perfect risotto every time, with whatever you have on hand.
Italian Recipes
I grew up cooking Italian cuisine, from classic Italian-American red sauce dishes, to more refined Northern Italian specialties. What follows is a huge collection of more than 100 Italian recipes that use fish, game, mushrooms or edible wild plants.
I started compiling this list of Italian recipes back in 2007, and while all are adapted for game, fish, etc., they all work with regular store-bought meats like chicken, beef or pork.
You will find Italian salumi here, as well as in its own category of Charcuterie, as well as all my recipes for pasta, polenta, risotto and gnocchi -- they also get their own category, since there are more than 60 recipes for them.
Some of my favorite Italian recipes include classics like scampi and old school lasagna, as well as less well known dishes like red pesto from Sicily and tuna crudo.
The Latest
Mushroom Spinach Frittata
An easy Italian cross between an omelet and a quiche, this frittata is stuffed with wild mushrooms and wild spinach.
Polenta with Mushroom Ragu
A classic Italian mushroom ragu, made with a variety of mushrooms, wild or cultivated. Serve this with polenta or pasta.
Venison Casserole
My take on venison casserole is, more or less, baked ziti, a classic Italian American dish. Ground venison, sausage, pasta, cheese and tomatoes. What’s not to love?
Nettle Risotto
Stinging nettle risotto rocks. It is the essence of “green,” and is super healthy, too. What’s more, blanched nettles will keep their emerald loveliness even after a good 15 minutes of cooking, which makes a nettle risotto visually stunning. The dish itself is pretty simple: Risotto rice, cooked nettles, butter, shallot, garlic, a little pecorino
Garlic Sausage with Basil
There is nothing exotic or unusual about this garlic sausage, except maybe that I am using venison along with the pork. You could use all pork or any combination of similar meats. I like to call this my “A Zone” sausage. It’s a California inside joke, as the state, in its infinite wisdom, makes us
Arugula Pesto with Pasta
When life gives you arugula, you make arugula pesto. A peppery, bracing pesto that matches really well with homemade pasta, fish, shrimp, chicken, pheasant or quail.
Lardo, Italian Cured Pork Fat
Lardo is one cured product you will almost never see done with wild game; I’m not saying it’s impossible, and I’ve done it, but to make really good lardo — which is cured and dried back fat — you need that fat to be at least an inch thick. This used to be rare even on