Thanksgiving Risotto
One of the greatest Italian comfort foods + a little Thanksgiving flair (you're going to love it). 💛
October may be my favorite month of the year, but my favorite holiday of the entire year is in November.
WHERE ARE MY THANKSGIVING-FIRST FRIENDS AT??!
Christmas gets all the limelight, but let me make a case for the fourth Thursday each November:
Food + Family. First and foremost, I love that Thanksgiving is the actual Super Bowl of holidays when it comes to the food (and don’t even tell me you don’t like pie or that you don’t like turkey—to which I’d say, “clearly you haven’t had my foolproof smoked turkey!”), plus it’s a family holiday. Ironically, this may be my first Thanksgiving ever celebrating just with my little family, but I absolutely love that Thanksgiving pairs two of my favorite things.
The stakes are low(er). Sure, there can be expectations about where you’ll be or what you’re bringing, but compared to Christmas, the pressure and stakes are unquestionably much, much lower. I’m into it.
Infinitely less commercialized. I know—Black Friday has become insanely overblown (especially post-COVID when “Black Friday” seemed to catapult to the beginning of November), but not having to purchase a slew of gifts—or really anything—is a huge relief always.
Fix once, eat twice. There’s something incredibly satisfying about not just the first round of Thanksgiving, but cracking open the leftovers just a few hours later for a hearty dinner of stuffing and pie.
All that to say, I’m wildly stoked for the best holiday of the year, and today’s recipe is dedicated to just that: Thanksgiving.
We’ve been living in Milan for just over 2 months now, and the Milanese are all about their risotto. You can find it on restaurant menus, at a grab-and-go counter at a salumeria, and there are more risotto-related offerings at the grocery store than I could have dreamed of.
Today we’re adding some Thanksgiving flair to this timeless classic. I’ve used holiday herbs, pancetta, and toasted panko for the perfect addition of texture and flavor to zhuzh up this iconic Italian dish.
A Few Tips
If you have homemade stock on hand, this is the time to use it! Let me know if you’d like me to share how I make mine.
Cooking for a vegetarian? Skip the pancetta or brown it in a separate pan and serve on it the side as a garnish.
If you’re making this ahead of time, you’ll want to hold off on adding the toasted panko and crisped pancetta until just before serving. Make the risotto as instructed, and when ready to serve warm the risotto slowly and add a few more splashes of chicken stock to re-achieve that creamy, dreamy consistency.
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Dutch oven
3 sprigs sage, divided
3 sprigs rosemary, divided
¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ cup panko
kosher salt
6 oz. pancetta, cut into small cubes
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed but still intact
1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind*
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups arborio rice
4 Tablespoons salted butter
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Finely mince the leaves of 1 sprig of sage and 2 of the sprigs of rosemary and set aside the remaining sprigs. Heat 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add panko and minced herbs, and a pinch of kosher salt, and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until panko is golden brown. Place panko in small bowl and set aside.
Wipe the Dutch oven out with a paper towel and, keeping the heat on medium-high, add the pancetta. Cook the pancetta until crispy and a deep golden brown, about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn. Using a slotted spoon, place the pancetta in a small bowl and set aside. Wipe the Dutch oven out once more with paper towels until the rendered fat from the pancetta is completely absorbed.
Add the remaining ¼ cup of the extra virgin olive oil to the Dutch oven and warm over medium heat. Once warmed, add onions, smashed garlic cloves, and 1 of the remaining sprigs of sage to the pan. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent (7-10 minutes), stirring frequently, being careful not to let the onions brown. While onions are cooking, warm the chicken stock until it’s piping hot in the microwave or in a saucepan.
Add the arborio rice to onions and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the Parmigiano Reggiano rind and ½ cup of the simmering broth to the rice, stirring every 30 seconds until the broth is absorbed by the rice. Repeat the process of adding the broth and stirring until it is absorbed several times, until the rice is al dente and the risotto is creamy, about 20-25 minutes. You may have some leftover stock.
Remove risotto from heat, discard the garlic cloves, sage, and Parm rind, and stir in the butter and Parmigiano Reggiano. Taste the risotto and add more kosher salt if needed. Top with the reserved toasted panko and crisped pancetta. Garnish with the remaining rosemary sprig and the leaves of the last sage sprig, and serve immediately.
*When I finish using a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano, I always save the rind to enhance the flavors of soups, stews, or in this case, risotto. They can be easily stored in the freezer, or if you don’t have one on hand most deli counters sell them.
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Have questions? Drop them below and I’ll answer ASAP!
Hi Brooke! Milan must be so dreamy right now! I love making risotto after Thanksgiving using leftover turkey stock, and this recipe looks sooo good.