Risotto

If you like, sauté some wild mushrooms and stir them into the finished risotto. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Orzo—rice shaped pasta—is easier to find than Arborio rice (the traditional ingredient in risotto) and makes a delicious risotto-style side dish.

A fruity, spicy Sauvignon Blanc would be perfect with this elegant dish.

This is a delicious, low-maintenance alternative to traditional risotto.

A rich, earthy first course or side dish.

It's worth seeking out Carnaroli rice (from the Piedmont region of Italy) for this recipe: Carnaroli has a higher starch content than Arborio, so it makes a much creamier risotto. Chef Kiffin serves this with braised oxtails and a watercress salad.

In Alba, and throughout the region of Piedmont, a pumpkin-like squash called zucca is found on many fall menus. Butternut squash substitutes nicely here.

Arugula adds zip to this creamy risotto.

Accompany the risotto with a lettuce and radicchio salad, and pass a basket of poppy-seed breadsticks. A strawberry tart would be a nice way to end the meal. See how to finely chop herbs.

Toss Italian greens like arugula and radicchio with a vinaigrette dressing and toasted walnuts for a fresh starter, and offer crunchy seeded breadsticks alongside this unusual risotto. Finish up with chocolate biscotti and espresso.

This recipe came to be when I was preparing risotto and realized I was out of Arborio rice; I used barley instead. The results were so delicious that I now prefer this version.

Start this meatless meal with artichokes filled with a lemon mayonnaise for dipping, and serve the risotto with a mixed green and cherry tomato salad and a basket of toasted herb bread. To polish things off, set out a purchased raspberry tart.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Hoppin' John is a traditional southern dish of black-eyed peas and salt pork served with rice. Here, it's a risotto dotted with black-eyed peas and flavored with bacon and pancetta. This is an unconventional method for making risotto — rather than slowly adding hot stock to the rice, Rollins adds it, unheated, in just 2 batches. This will allow you more time for preparing the chops that go along with it.

Who knew bulgur could be such a great substitute for rice in risotto? And without all that stirring. No, bulgur won’t replace Arborio rice anytime soon—but you’ll be surprised at how good it can be.