Risotto with Four Cheeses

Four-cheese risotto is not a subtle dish. Fontina melts into silky strands, Gorgonzola brings a sharp blue funk, and Parmesan and Romano add salty, granular bite. Together they create a risotto that’s intensely savory and rich enough to stand on its own as a main course.

The technique is classic. Arborio rice gets toasted in butter until the grains turn translucent, then hot chicken stock goes in half a cup at a time. Continuous stirring coaxes the starch out of the rice, and that starch is what builds the creamy, almost sauce-like consistency. Skip the stirring and you get regular rice. Commit to it and you get risotto.

All four cheeses go in off the heat with the last tablespoon of butter. This is important. Adding cheese to a pot that’s still on the burner makes it seize up and turn grainy instead of melting smoothly. The residual heat is more than enough to melt everything into a glossy, unified sauce.

Chef Tips

• Keep the stock at a low simmer in a separate pot the entire time. Adding cold stock drops the temperature and slows cooking.
• Dice the fontina and Gorgonzola small (¼ inch) so they melt quickly and evenly when stirred in at the end.
• The rice is done when it’s creamy but still has a slight bite at the center. Mushy risotto means you’ve gone too far.
• Serve immediately. Risotto thickens and stiffens as it sits. If it does, stir in a splash of warm stock to loosen.

Variations

• Add a splash of dry white wine after toasting the rice and before the first ladle of stock for a brighter flavor base.
• Fold in torn fresh sage leaves with the cheese for an earthy, aromatic finish.
• Swap Gorgonzola for a milder blue like Cambozola if you want the blue cheese flavor dialed back.