Risotto with Orange Juice

4.88 from 8 votes

This recipe comes from Lidia Bastianich, who first came across Risotto all'Arancia (Risotto with Orange Juice) at a friends estate in Sicily. Risotto with Orange Juice is a refreshing, surprising risotto that's delicious on its own or as a side with any protein. Any type of orange works in the recipe; I've used classic navel, and sweeter Cara Cara with good results. Risotto isn't difficult to make. It just takes some patience and is fully hands on for about an hour. The reward is worth all the time needed for stirring.

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Total Time40

Course: Meatless Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: as a side

Calories: 409kcal

Author: Sally Humeniuk

Ingredients

3 oranges, juicy, with bright unblemished skin
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ cup onion, minced
2 tbsp shallots, minced
2 ½ cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken broth or stock, heated (see recipe notes)
¾ cup fresh orange juice, from the 3 oranges at the beginning of the recipe
1 tsp salt, more to taste
¾ cup Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, shredded, plus more before serving
4 tbsp butter, cut into chunks
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 orange, an extra to slice for garnish before serving (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the oranges:

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the rind from two of the three oranges, being careful not to include the white part below the skin as it's bitter (Using a soft touch with the vegetable peeler makes this easy to do. Don't stress if you get a little of the pith). Chop the rinds further into thinner strips, you should have about ½ cup. Juice all three oranges and reserve the juice. Depending on how juicy your oranges are, you'll have between ¾ to 1 cup. Don't sweat if it you have less.

Make the risotto:

Using a heavy, large pot (I like my large cast iron pan but an enameled stock pot works too), heat 3 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add ½ cup minced onion and 2 Tablespoons shallot. Cook them until golden, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
Add 2 ½ cups rice and stir to coat with the oil in the pan. Cook the rice until the edges become translucent, only a minute or so. Add ½ cup wine and the sliced orange rind and stir well until the wine is absorbed. This only takes about 30 seconds. Add 1 teaspoon salt and stir again.
Start the process of adding your chicken broth now (see notes below regarding keeping the broth hot). Add between ½ to ¾ cup at a time, stir until each portion is almost fully absorbed, then continue adding small amounts of the broth, waiting for the rice to absorb it each time before adding more, stirring all the while, almost continuously (all this stirring is making the risotto starchy for that creamy texture you're after). If the broth bubbles too much, turn the heat down a little, you don't want the liquid to steam off before the rice can absorb it. This step can take up to 20 minutes.
When all the broth has been added and the risotto now has kind of a creamy, starchy thickness to it, add in ¾ cup orange juice and stir again to distribute and absorb. The rice should be creamy and tastes al dente. (See recipe notes if rice's texture is still too firm.)
Remove from the heat. Add ¾ cup cheese and stir until melted and distributed well. Add 4 Tablespoons butter and also stir until melted. Taste the risotto now, adding more salt if needed, and black pepper, if desired. If you like more cheese in your risotto, you can more at this time, stirring to incorporate.
Serve immediately, ladling into shallow bowls. Garnish the Risotto with a slice of orange, optionally, for presentation and sprinkle with extra cheese and black pepper.

Notes

Zesting the oranges- When peeling the oranges, using just a regular old vegetable peeler is the best tool and you only need soft pressure to be able to peel the rind without getting the white pith as well.
Chicken stock vs. broth- Lidia's original recipe called for chicken stock but I've made this recipe so many times, sometimes using stock, sometimes using broth. It's fine with either. The time that I made the risotto with homemade chicken broth, it was mind-blowing good. However, most of us don't always have or take the time to make our own broth. You will love it with the canned stuff, too.
Keep the broth hot- It's highly advisable that you keep your chicken broth (or stock) hot during the making of risotto. You can either place broth in a glass measuring cup, heat in the microwave until it's steamy hot and continue to pop it back in to heat a few times as the rice is cooking, or you can have a second saucepan on the stove with your broth in it that you can keep scooping (or pouring directly from the pan) into the risotto.
Getting the desired softness of the rice- When you've finished adding all your chicken broth and orange juice, give the rice a taste for doneness. If it's not soft enough for you (remember risotto is not cooked to the full fluffy softness of other, regular rice dishes. I'll have a little resistance), it means that you may have rushed the cooking process a bit. Just add up another large splash of chicken broth or water to the risotto, and cook a few minutes more. Taste and repeat until the risotto texture pleases you.
Sweetness of the oranges- Sometimes the oranges may be quite sweet. If you taste your risotto after adding the juice and you feel like it's too sweet, add about a teaspoon of lemon juice to balance it out. Also, adding a tad more salt and cheese helps with this too (I've only had this happen once. Every other time, the recipe worked just right as written).
How to reheat risotto- To reheat leftover risotto, place the risotto in a saucepan over medium heat. The risotto will have absorbed most of the liquid from the initial preparation. While the risotto is reheating, slowly add about 1/4 cup of water (or broth if you have it) at a time until you're happy with the consistency. Taste for seasoning, plate and top with more Parmesan.

Nutrition