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With tangy goat cheese, sour lemons and sweet pears, this pear risotto recipe is a creamy and tasty one pan meal perfect for weeknights.
When it comes comforting meals to be made during the week, risotto is one of the first dishes that comes to mind - from chicken and leek risotto to sweet potato risotto to pesto risotto.
I'm always on the lookout for creating a recipe that combines some of my favorite flavors and this pear risotto is the latest and greatest.
I mean pears, goat cheese and walnuts... what is a better combination? And it is kicked up a notch by mixing with a creamy, yet slightly al dente rice.
Oh and it doesn't hurt that you can make it in one pan. I'm always a fan of less dishes!
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Ingredient Notes
- Leeks - has a mild-onion taste that enhances the risotto.
- Arborio rice - when it comes to risotto, Arborio is the way to go as it has just the right amount of starch.
- Wine - it lends flavor and some acidity to the dish, which can help balance out some of the richness.
- Pears - gives the risotto a slight sweetness.
- Lemons - adds flavor, brightness and acidity.
- Cheese - the combo of goat and Parmesan cheese adds creaminess and a slight nutty, salty flavor.
- Walnuts - gives some crunch and complements the flavor of the pears.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe, you can replace some of the ingredients. Some variations include:
- To me leeks are what makes this dish, but you can replace with sweet onions, white, yellow, red onions or shallots. They all high slightly different flavors.
- Arborio rice is most common, but other short-grain rice like Carnaroli, Vialone, Nano, and Baldo work as well.
- I personally prefer chicken stock for flavor, but vegetable stock works too.
- I'm a huge fan of goat cheese, but another cheese that works great is gorgonzola.
- While I like walnuts in this pear risotto, you an also use pecans or almonds.
Step-by-Step Photos
Please note full ingredient list and instructions can be found in recipe card below.
Add oil and butter to Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the leeks for 5 minutes before adding garlic and cooking for another minute. Add rice and stir to coat, cooking for another minute.
Deglaze the pan with wine. Add the stock 1 cup at a time and stir constantly. Wait for stock to be absorbed before adding more.
Once the rice is tender stir in the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning.
FAQs
Use only Italian short-grain rice varieties such as Arborio, Carnaroli, Vialone, Nano, and Baldo.
In the US, Arobrio rice is the most common you'll find. Short-grain rice has a high starch content and tends to absorb less liquid which is perfect for this risotto.
No! If you rinse the rise, you rinse the starch off which is key to creating a quality risotto.
Risotto is traditionally made with Arborio rice which has high rice gluten content, but it's not the same thing as the gluten that would bother you.
Because of this, 95% of the time you are safe to consume risotto if you have a gluten allergy. Where the 5% comes into play is if the broth/stock you use has traces of gluten in it. So just read the ingredients of your stock before using.
While leeks are tasty, they can be quite dirty so make sure you clean them before using, otherwise you'll have a mouthful of soil with every bite. Simply recipes has great instructions on how to clean leeks.
While there are plenty of options, I'm a fan of Bartlett or D'Anjou pears, as they work well with the goat cheese.
Equipment
The equipment you use is important to how the pear risotto recipe turns out. What is needed is the following:
- Skillet/Dutch oven - you want something large enough to be able to cook the rice.
- Wooden spoon - used to mix together the ingredients.
- Chef's knife - you want a quality knife to cut the leeks, garlic and pears.
- Zester - needed to zest the lemon.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Toast/cook the rice in butter/oil so it absorbs the stock slowly without becoming soggy.
- Use quality dry white wine to deglaze the pan. You want a wine you'd be willing to drink as it adds flavor and acidity to the pear risotto.
- Use hot stock so when you add to the rice it won't cool everything down and mess up the cooking process.
- Slowly add the stock and wait until it is absorbed before adding more which allows the rice to create that creamy starch you expect from risotto.
- Stir the risotto often enough, but don’t stir so much your arm gets tired. It should be just enough to keep the risotto from burning.
- Keep at a medium simmer throughout cooking, otherwise your pear risotto with take forever.
- Cook until al dente. Risotto should have some body and bite to it and not be too mushy or starchy.
- Wait until rice is finished cooking before stirring in the rest of the ingredients.
Similar Recipes
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Pear Risotto
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cups chopped leeks (1 whole leek)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
- ⅔ cup dry white wine
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 3 pears, diced into ½ cubes
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 8 oz goat cheese
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- kosher salt + black pepper for taste
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks, cooking for about 5 minutes, until tender. Toss in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add rice and stir to coat, cooking for another minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and simmer over low heat until almost all of the wine has been absorbed. Add chicken stock that is simmering 1 cup at a time, stirring the rice constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more.
- Once the rice is tender (should be between 20-25 minutes), add the pears, lemon zest and lemon juice. After everything is mixed, add the goat cheese, Parmesan cheese and chopped walnuts. Taste and if needed add salt and pepper. Serve with some walnuts and Parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
- Toast/cook the rice in butter/oil so it absorbs the stock slowly without becoming soggy.
- Use quality dry white wine to deglaze the pan. You want a wine you'd be willing to drink as it adds flavor and acidity to the risotto.
- Use hot stock so when you add to the rice it won't cool everything down and mess up the cooking process.
- Slowly add the stock and wait until it is absorbed before adding more which allows the rice to create that creamy starch you expect from risotto.
- Stir the risotto often enough, but don’t stir so much your arm gets tired. It should be just enough to keep the risotto from burning.
- Keep at a medium simmer throughout cooking, otherwise your risotto with take forever.
- Cook until al dente. Risotto should have some body and bite to it and not be too mushy or starchy.
- Wait until rice is finished cooking before stirring in the rest of the ingredients.
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