I received 5 ears of corn from my CSA here in Colorado on the same day I received the NY Times recipe newsletter with a recipe for corn risotto, so I obviously knew what I was making for dinner. As always, I tweaked their recipe as I wanted more corn in the risotto, and didn’t have leeks on hand.If you’re using fresh sweet corn, you’ll have the cobs anyway so take the time to make the corn stock as this will add to the flavor of the finished risotto. And here’s a tip: you can start the risotto, stirring to get it creamy, and then turn it off and finish it up right before serving so you don’t need to stand over the stove right before dinner for so long.
Corn Risotto
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Cooking with Michele
Recipe type: Side Dish
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 ears fresh sweet corn
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
- ½ cup sweet white vermouth
- 6 cups stock (see Notes)
- ½ to 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (to taste)
- ¼ heavy cream, optional but it does make the risotto extra creamy
- 2 tablespoons minced chives or basil
Instructions
- Cut the kernels from the corn and reserve the cobs for making the stock (see Notes).
- Heat the butter in a medium stockpot and sauté the shallot until slightly softened. Add the salt, pepper and rice, and cook, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes until the rice is well coated with the fat.
- Deglaze the pan with the vermouth, stirring until the alcohol has cooked off and most of the liquid is absorbed, then begin adding the stock (keep it over a low flame to keep it hot) in small amounts, stirring each time until it is mostly absorbed. Repeat until the rice is just barely al dente, then stir in the cheese and cream and herbs.
- Serve immediately as the risotto will thicken up if left too long!
Notes
This is best made with corn stock which you can easily make after cutting the corn from the cobs. Combine the cobs in a large stockpot with some aromatics. I keep carrot, celery, mushroom stem, and onion scraps in the freezer for making stock and I just dumped a couple handfuls in with the box before covering with water. Simmer for a couple of hours, then strain and use the stock for the risotto. And note, while most rice dishes are made with a ratio of 2:1 for water:rice, the technique for making risotto requires much more liquid.