When my mother-in-law, Jackie, comes to visit around Thanksgiving, she usually brings wonderfully fragrant, sweet Meyer lemons that she grows in her California backyard. When I made this typical Italian risotto with them, it was superb.
Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
6cupshomemade meat brothor½ each beef and chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 6cupswater
½ medium yellow onion
3tablespoonsbutter
2lemons
1¾cupsrice for risotto (Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano)
Salt
ā cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method
Put the broth in a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer.
Add the rice to the onion and stir until it is well coated. Add about 1cup of the hot broth and continue stirring. Add only enough broth to produce the consistency of a rather thick soup and wait until all the liquid is absorbed before adding more. After the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, season with salt and add half the grated lemon zest and 3tablespoons of the lemon juice. Continue cooking until the rice is al dente, 5 to 10 minutes more.
Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the remaining 1tablespoon butter and the Parmigiano. Serve at once, sprinkling the remaining lemon zest over each portion.