I spent my last summer in high school as an au pair traveling the Italian countryside in a rented Peugot squeezed between two 3 year old twin boys.  Serenaded by the ‘Sesame Street’ soundtrack, we explored hidden villages outside of Italy’s most prestigious cities.  It was the first time I can remember ‘experiencing food’ as opposed to simply eating.  Despite the 3 year olds’ preference for cheerios, we enjoyed pesto outside of Genoa, eggplant parmigana near Sienna, and pasta carbonara on our way to Milan.  The dish I remember most and have been able to recreate often at home is the risotto the twins’ mother would make on the evenings we ate in to enjoy dinner outside at a picnic table surrounded by fruit trees.  

While risotto is not a dish you can prepare in a hurry, the slow stirring and simple ingredients make it a wonderful way to relax and enjoy an elegant yet comforting meal with friends and family.  I have always used butter and parmesan cheese to finish off each risotto dish however, after making Mario Batali’s mascarpone polenta a few weeks ago, I was inspired to use mascarpone cheese.  The creaminess of the cheese adds a wonderfully smooth finish to the risotto.   The meditative stirring of the rice was enough to drown the chaos of 2 twin boys back in Italy – I hope you find the dish just as relaxing and delicious!

What you will need (recipe serves 4)…

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 White Onion, chopped

1 Cup of Arborio Risotto Rice

1 Cup Dry White Wine

3 Cans of Chicken Broth

¼ Cup of Mascarpone Cheese (this can be replaced with 1 Tablespoon of Butter and ¼ Cup of Parmesan Cheese)

2 cups of fresh cut corn*

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 leaves of basil, chopped 

* When cutting the corn off the cob, be sure to run the back of a butter knife down the bare cobs after cutting the corn into a bowl.  This will release the juices of the cob and help flavor the risotto.  You can add the juices directly to the bowl with the kernels of corn.

In a medium saucepan, pour in all 3 cans of chicken broth and warm on the stove over low heat.  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat on the stove in a large pan with high sides (a Dutch oven works well for this dish).  Add the onion and sauté until translucent – around 10 minutes.  Add the risotto and stir until the risotto starts to turn translucent as well – around 5 minutes.  Be careful not to brown the onion or rice as this will ruin the perfect cream color of the dish. 

Turn the heat to high and add the wine.  Let the wine cook off and then return the heat to medium.  At this point, you will begin to pour in ladles of chicken broth, one ladle at a time.  Allow each ladle of broth to be absorbed before adding more broth.  Stir constantly.  It will take around 30 to 40 minutes for the rice to absorb all the liquid.  Once you have gone through 2/3’s of the broth, start to taste the rice.  Risotto should be served al dente – creamy but with a good bite to the rice.  It may not require all 3 cans of chicken broth.

After all the liquid has been absorbed, cook the rice, stirring constantly, until the risotto is no longer runny.  At this point, remove the risotto from the heat.  Add the mascarpone cheese and corn.  Carefully fold these ingredients in to the risotto – you don’t want to mash the risotto into a gummy paste.  Add the basil as well as salt and pepper to taste.