Quick Answer: What to Serve with Risotto?
Certain scrumptious sides to complement your risotto and match the demands of your taste buds are – Arugula Salad, Steamed Asparagus, Spinach Salad, Grilled Broccolini, Garlic Bread, Beans, Roasted Veggies, Roasted Shrimp, Chicken Thighs, and Sauteed Mushrooms.
This post brings you 10 mesmerizing side dishes that go flawlessly well with risotto to culminate a nuanced flavored meal.
I personally admire experimenting with my meals and have tried all these sides, and they complement my risotto extremely well.
So, aren’t you amazed to try some mouth-watering sides? Let’s dive in:
1. Arugula Salad
Time taken to prepare: 10 minutes
Arugula salad is that refreshing bowl of nutrients that isn’t just vivid but also crunchy and scrumptious.
Arugulas have an irresistible signature flavor that can form fusions with mayos and a variety of different sauces.
You can add veggies, mushrooms, and fruits of your choice to customize your dish based on the occasion and your mood at barely any time.
Make this convenient to follow food recipe by The Stay At Home Chef for crafting your perfect arugula salad the very first time you try it:
2. Steamed Asparagus
Time taken to prepare: 10 minutes
Steamed asparagus is a fantastic side dish to regulate your caloric intake while you decide to relish a mammoth-sized risotto.
Get the entire stalks of asparagus, slip them into boiling water till it turns soft and creamy, and add seasonings of your choice to suit your taste.
Learn the fine art of preparing steamed asparagus with nominal ingredients that generate loads of flavor and nourishment via this video from Foods101withDeronda:
3. Spinach Salad
Time taken to prepare: 20 minutes
Spinach alone may not be that appealing, but when coupled with the right ingredients, it will undoubtedly up your foodie game.
You’ll surely be left smitten with the vibrant appeal and the yummy taste of spinach salad.
One can add boiled or grilled meat, veggies, or fruits of their choice along with spinach to curate a personalized side dish.
Master the art of curating finger-licking spinach salad that can provide you with just the right amount of vibrance to complement your risotto via this instant recipe from ehowhealth:
4. Grilled Broccolini
Time taken to prepare: 15 minutes
Grilling broccolini with some olive oil and seasonings will generate an unforgettable taste for your risotto meals.
You could either grill broccolini on a charcoal grill or a gas one, whichever works best for you.
These plush greens won’t just be soothing for your eyes but also be relieving for your stomach. They come with the right amount of crispiness and tenderness.
Check this recipe from Sweet Peas Saffron to produce supreme quality grilled broccolini in your very first shot:
5. Garlic Bread
Time taken to prepare: 18 minutes
Garlic bread is either soft, tender, and fluffy or crunchy and porous.
They form an excellent association with risotto as it comes with certain levels of crispiness that can go well with the creamy consistency of risottos.
You can either opt for garlic cheese bread or the regular one to keep trying new variants that can be added to your list of favorite entremets for risotto.
Feast over this delicious side dish along with your chosen risotto by visiting this mind-blowing recipe from Cook with Lubna:
6. Baked Beans
Time taken to prepare: 30 minutes
Baked beans are a saucy and flavorful side to complement your risotto.
You can use any of your personal favorites here for the baked beans part of this recipe: French beans, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, and haricot beans.
You can add a variety of sauces to generate either a sweet, smoky, spicy, or tangy taste to the otherwise bland beans.
These are baked and hence are bound to impart nutrition to your body as they melt in your mouth.
This amazing recipe from Rekha Kakkar will assist you in your new cooking endeavor and will make you swept off your feet with baked beans just the way you love risotto:
7. Roasted Veggies
Time taken to prepare: 30 minutes
When veggies go through the grill and heat, they culminate themselves into crunchy and crispy entremets.
Add spices of your choice and witness an enchanting experience.
You can customize your dish by adding your chosen veggies and fruits to add some sweetness and pulp.
When you settle for risotto, try pairing it with seasoned roasted veggies so that you don’t miss out on that juiciness and zing.
Try this instant and easy to cook food recipe as Rajshri Foods guides your way at every step via this video:
8. Roasted Shrimp
Time taken to prepare: 10 minutes
Roasted shrimp is crispy on the outside and soft and supple on the inside.
It’s a juicy side dish to serve with risotto that’ll add a distinct taste to your daily meal.
Roasted seafood is always better for binge eating as it comes with minimal calories and loads of nourishment.
Go for your favorite shrimps and marinate them with the right spices to craft a remarkable dish that complements risotto, like no other dish.
Add the required crunch to your risotto by pairing them with roasted shrimp by following this food recipe from G-Free Foodie:
9. Chicken Thighs
Time taken to prepare: 15 minutes
Chicken thighs can be cooked using multiple methods like grilling, roasting, boiling, and frying.
While cooking chicken thighs you are bestowed with the option of not mixing any seasoning and yet attain a flavorful meal due to the natural flavor of the chicken.
Risotto and chicken thighs form an ultimate combination of flavor, aroma, texture, and health.
Boiled chicken thighs will form the healthiest side dish for risottos.
Don’t just read about chicken thighs as a side dish; rather, craft one all by yourself within minutes via the below-given video from Farheen’s Kitchen:
10. Sauteed Mushrooms
Time taken to prepare: 13 minutes
Here arrives a recipe wherein the mushrooms are dunked in oil and stir-fried till the outer layer turns crispy and crumbly.
Sauteing imparts an excellent texture to the mushrooms while providing us with an irresistible flavor.
You can always test new and innovative ways to find your absolute match by adding spices to the sauteed mushrooms and personalize your every meal.
When crunch fuses with high doses of proteins and fiber, one creates sauteed mushrooms.
Here’s a quick recipe for the same by Cooking with Mitisha:
All About Risotto
Risotto is a North Italian dish primarily consisting of rice that is prepared at high temperatures along with a broth that imparts a creamy and uniform consistency to the dish.
The broth can be retrieved either from vegetables, fish, or meat.
Italians are known for cooking their rice in this format, in the form of soft and chewy risotto.
FAQs
Side dishes are used to boost the flavor of your existing meal and make it more happening. Depending upon your choice of taste and consistency, you can opt for any of the above-listed side dishes.
It is always a great idea to experiment and append new side dishes to your list.
The primary ingredient in a risotto that imparts color, flavor, and creamy consistency is rice. Apart from rice, cheese, mushrooms, onions, butter, white wine, and stocks are added.
Beverages ranging from alcoholic to non-alcoholic and cold to hot can add a wholesome taste to your risotto, examples of which include beer, cocktails, wine, aerated drinks, cold coffee, iced tea, milkshakes, and piping hot black tea or coffee can complement risotto exceptionally well.
Most of the time, chicken stocks are added to the risotto as they are the most versatile stocks available in the market.
They can blend well with other ingredients and absorb the seasonings added to the dish. One can also use meat or vegetable stock.
Risotto is predominately made from Parmesan cheese, but you can try other hard and firm cheese variants as well like gruyere, cheddar, pecorino, and mascarpone.
These cheeses melt and blend religiously with the food stuffing when cooked at high temperatures.
The average caloric content of risotto is 166 calories. So, you can opt for a side dish that doesn’t exceed your daily calorie requirements to consume a balanced meal.
Bottom Line
We hope this article was worthwhile and will assist you while choosing your next side dish for your upcoming party or get-together.
Do keep us updated regarding your go-to side dish for risotto via the comments section, and don’t forget to share this insightful piece with your loved ones.