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What I learned in Italy – Kids Love Risotto!

June 13, 2007 by Susan

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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We all know kids are huge fans of Italian food… they all love pasta, white bread and cheese. But what I discovered during our recent trip to Italy was that there is an entire other type of Italian food that most of us are missing out on feeding to our kids – Risotto!!!

And the best part of this discovery is that you can make the risotto super healthy by stuffing it full of all types of veggies.

You can make risotto with any vegetable from asparagus to broccoli, or keep it simple with peas and carrots. Anything goes…

A simple search on Google for Risotto will give you thousands of recipes, such as a Basic Risotto recipe by Jamie Oliver.

But for me the key is to not stress about perfection and just do it. So I don’t even bother with a recipe… I just wing it, take shortcuts and do something like this:

  1. In a medium to large size pot I heat a bit of canola oil, onions, garlic and perhaps celery if I have it. (Traditionally it’s made with butter, but I use canola oil to make it healthier.)
  2. I add in whatever other veggies I want to include. Possibilities include spinach or asparagus or carrots and peas… whatever I feel like and have in the fridge or freezer. I sometimes include bell peppers and/or zucchini. For me the main thing is getting the vegetables into the kids. (I also throw in frozen chopped parsley.)
  3. Then I add a cup or two of Arborio rice. That is key – the rice MUST be a special type of rice called Arborio rice. (It’ll take some trial and error to figure out the right amount for your family.)
  4. I quickly mix it around a bit and then I add some warm chicken stock. But this is a good step to add some wine if you want. Since I’m pregnant, I skip the wine.
  5. The key now is that you’re slowly adding more warm stock and stirring and waiting for it to absorb. (I often cheat with the stock and instead I just use room temperature water and add powdered chicken or vegetable stock.) This step is the main cooking time and takes about 20 minutes or so.
  6. I taste the rice to see if it’s cooked.
  7. Once it tastes soft, I pull it from the heat and add a bunch of Parmesan cheese (and sometimes I add a splash of milk) and stir it well. (You’re supposed to add butter here, but I skip it as I’m trying to keep it as healthy as possible.)
  8. Then it sits in the pot for a couple minutes as I grab out the plates etc.

And it’s amazing… Julia and Jackson both LOVE it and always ask for seconds.

One negative about risotto is that it needs to be eaten immediately and does not work well for leftovers the next day.

But, the great taste and the clean plates have made vegetable risotto a regular feature around here.

As I said before, the key is to just make it and not worry about it being the ‘perfect Italian risotto’. Your kids won’t know the difference — they’ll just love this creamy, yummy alternative to their regular rice and vegetables.

So how about you… have you ever fed your kids risotto? What other grown-up food have you found that surprisingly your kids love?

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About Susan

Susan Carraretto and her identical twin, Janice Croze, created 5 Minutes for Mom in 2006. Susan loves all social media, but her top addiction these days is Pinterest.

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16 Comments

  1. Stuart says

    January 29, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    If you are still looking at these comments – regarding the issue about risotto for leftovers, the classic leftover risotto preparation is to add an egg or two to the cold risotto (usually the next morning, but a couple of days is okay) and cook it as you would a potato pancake. Frankly, the more butter you use to skillet cook it the better, but oil will work. The result is heavenly. This is the classic dish served before you attend the Opera in Milano.

    Reply
  2. In The Midst Of This Season says

    June 17, 2007 at 8:49 am

    Our family also loves risotto. Thanks for sharing your version.
    Blessings,
    ~Toni~

    Reply
  3. MommaBlogger says

    June 15, 2007 at 10:04 pm

    My kids love hamburger pie (mashed potatoes, cheese and ground beef), and they also like mozzarella stuffed meatballs. There’s something else they like that’s odd, but I can’t think of it at the moment. I’ve never tried making risotto, but I might have to!

    Reply
  4. Suzanne says

    June 15, 2007 at 2:01 am

    My Daughter Elizabeth LOVES Liver Pate. she calls it Fliver. “Mom, Can I please have fliver on 5 crackers?”

    Reply
  5. mama k says

    June 14, 2007 at 11:36 pm

    Great post. I have always been hesitant to try risotto, but I think I may now.
    My 10mo son LOVES rice and black beans. I’m a fan of spanish foods too. So I make a less spicy version for him with just a tiny bit of garlic, olive oil, short grain rice and canned black beans. He picks all the beans off his tray first and then grabs the kernels of rice. Seriously his favorite meal.

    Reply
    • Raymond says

      May 18, 2010 at 5:51 pm

      Not that it is really important, but Spanish food is NOT spicy. South American and or Mexican food is. Spanish cuisine (that is, Spanish EU) is very very rarely spicy.

      Actually, besides patatas bravas and pimientos de padrón (special kind of bell pepper) it is very difficult to find any “staple” recipes which are spicy or hot. Talking about patatas bravas, try them at any tapas place… I bet you will love them!

      Reply
  6. Jennifer, Snapshot says

    June 14, 2007 at 10:22 pm

    I started making risotto in this last year. I love it!! I have heard that about the leftovers, but I love it leftover. I just heat it in the microwave and it’s still so good!!

    Greatexpecations–it takes a lot of stock–3 cups or more. I use Martha Stewart’s recipe from Everyday Food.

    Reply
  7. Greatexpectations says

    June 14, 2007 at 2:13 pm

    Thanks. One question: How much stock does it take? I’m wondering if I have everything on hand to make this this weekend. Yum. I’ve always avoided it because I never have wine around … now I know I can do without. When I have wine, it doesn’t last long enough to be incorporated into recipes.

    Reply
  8. My Quotidian Mysteries says

    June 14, 2007 at 10:37 am

    Great idea! I love risotto, so I bet Lil’ Bug will too. (I’d love to get her liking anything right now!)

    Reply
  9. christieo says

    June 14, 2007 at 9:31 am

    mine eats everything so i am sure that he would eat risotto. i LOVE risotto!!!! thanks for posting this, i love vegetable risotto and i’m gonna make it now this weekend!!!

    Reply
  10. Gracey says

    June 14, 2007 at 2:42 am

    my daughter loves risotto very much and I am glad that her father, though not Italian makes one very good version of it!

    Reply
  11. jen says

    June 14, 2007 at 12:41 am

    im sure Daniel would enjoy this thanks for reminding us of this yummmmmmmmmmmmy dish

    Reply
  12. emily says

    June 13, 2007 at 9:36 pm

    My kids both like quinoa. I make a quinoa recipe with black beans and corn that’s a big hit with both my 1 and 3 year old, and an orange quinoa salad that is a tasty summer salad that they both usually eat also.

    They do also generally eat risotto, though my 1 year old is great at picking veggie bits out of any food I feed him.

    Reply
  13. Cicily says

    June 13, 2007 at 9:09 pm

    Great recipe! I’ll have to give it a try on my 22 month old son!

    Reply
  14. oh amanda says

    June 13, 2007 at 8:13 pm

    Yum. I love risotto. I need to try that!

    I don’t know if this is weird or not, but my daughter LOVES hummus and couscous. Couscous, I do not recommend for kids learning to eat. You’ll have to hose the highchair down afterwards!

    Reply
  15. Gem says

    June 13, 2007 at 7:58 pm

    Sounds yummy, I’ll have to try to find the special rice. I never really knew what risotto was.

    Reply

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