The Cheesiest Risotto

While soups, pasta dishes, and mashed potatoes are commonly thought of as the ultimate comfort foods, risotto is another dish that is high on my list of personal favorites. Since we bought our first Insta-Pot last year we’ve cut down on the time that it takes to make this dish down to 6 minutes plus prep-time. For this particular risotto, we used Piave PDO cheese which while an aged cheese has the most delicate flavor with subtle notes of nuts and fruit.

We also used a combination of rice, our standard Arborio Rice, and Black Truffle Risotto Rice that we’d picked up from Home Goods over the summer. I always love discovering specialty food products in our local Home Goods, and we’d previously tried the Porcini Mushroom Risotto Rice which was so flavorful and delicious. Using a Rissoto Mix that already has most of your herbs and spices included is always a plus when you don’t have access to fresh herbs.

— About Piave PDO —

Piave PDO is made exclusively in the Belluno province in the northern Veneto region. The area is known for the Dolomite mountains the Piave river that flows through the region. While the particular cheese is the most famous from the Belluno with its sweet flavors that intensify as it ages, the cheese didn’t adopt its current name until 1960.

The valley of Belluno is also where the first cooperative dairy in Italy was founded in 1872 by the parish priest Antonio dalla Lucia. Local farmers were allowed to take turns processing the milk from their Bruna cows to create their own butter and cheese.

The Cheesiest Risotto

Ingredients —

• 1 cup Black Truffle Risotto
• 1 cup Arborio Rice
• 1 (heaping) tbsp Garlic (minced)
• 1 onion (diced)
• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 slices of thickly cut ham (diced)
• 4 tbsp Goat Butter (or regular butter)
• 1/4 cup Piave PDO Cheese (plus more for topping)

Directions —

Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high sauté setting. Melt 4 tablespoons butter; add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent about 3-4 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, and both kinds of rice. Select manual setting; adjust the pressure to high, and set time for 6 minutes. Set out 1 cup of frozen peas to thaw while the risotto is cooking. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Stir in peas, diced ham, and Piave P.D.O. cheese until heated through, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

The Piave PDO cheese was provided by my friends at Sopexa and APO Agriform. All thoughts and opinions are my own.