Orange Sage Risotto

Risotto is one of those dishes that encourages imagination and creativity. Now, most of the risotto dishes I've eaten, either in a restaurant or after cooking in my own kitchen, have been of the savory persuasion. Given this, I've always wanted to see whether I could incorporate fruit into risotto, to lighten it up a bit. Not necessarily a dessert (a dessert risotto experiment is most definitely in my future), but a risotto that could serve as a sweet or tangy side dish.

Back when I had a roommate, we would take turns making dinner for one another, and this risotto came to being on one of the night's I was assigned to cook. Originally, I paired the risotto with some pork sirloin chops I had prepared in the slow cooker. While the two dishes worked well together, the meal, as a whole, was just too damn heavy. If I had to do it again, I probably would have served the risotto with some grilled or poached salmon... Something a little lighter. Nevertheless, this dish was bright and fresh and really delicious, so I hope you try it!

Do you have a favorite type of risotto? Have you played around with unusual flavor combinations? Let me know!

Orange Sage Risotto
Serves: 2 | Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3/4 cup Arborio rice
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 5 fresh sage leaves, julienned
• Salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring orange juice and water to a boil. Reduce the heat and keep the liquid at a low simmer.
2. In a small Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat with the butter. Continue toasting the rice, stirring constantly, until it is golden brown in color, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the white wine and simmer until the wine has almost evaporated.
4. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering juice and stir until almost completely absorbed by the rice. Continue cooking the rice, adding the juice 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of juice to absorb before adding the next. Continue doing this until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total.
5. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the sage leaves, salt, and pepper.
6. Finish with the remaining tablespoon of butter and serve immediately.

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to Taste As You Go’s RSS feed orsigning up for email updates so you don’t miss a thing!