Gordon Ramsay’s Parmesan risotto is golden, glossy and rich, made with Arborio rice, white wine, butter and a generous 100g of Parmigiano Reggiano, ready in about 30 minutes. With only a handful of ingredients, there’s nothing to hide behind here so the technique has to be right.
Every risotto in Ramsay’s cookbooks finishes the same way: butter and Parmesan beaten in off the heat. In Home Cooking he names this step “the mantecato,” calling it “another essential part of the process” and telling readers to put the lid back on for a few minutes so the rice absorbs the flavour. This recipe takes that finishing technique and makes it the whole dish.
The difference between this and a plain risotto is how much cheese goes in. His other risottos use 25-75g of Parmesan as a background player, but here I’ve pushed it to 100g so the cheese flavour comes through in every bite. The rind simmering in the stock is optional but it pulls out every last gram of flavour from the block.
Gordon Ramsay Parmesan Risotto Recipe
Course: Dinners, RisottoCuisine: British, ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes20
minutes380
kcal30
minutesPure Parmesan risotto built from the mantecato technique Ramsay teaches in Ultimate Home Cooking. Just rice, wine, butter and a generous 100g of Parmigiano Reggiano. About £1.60 per serving.
Ingredients
250g Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1 litre hot chicken or vegetable stock
1 Parmesan rind (optional, for simmering in the stock)
125ml dry white wine
100g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated, plus shavings to serve
50g cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 banana shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Heat the stock: Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. Drop in the Parmesan rind if using and keep the stock on a low heat throughout cooking.
- Soften the aromatics: Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until softened but not coloured.
- Toast the rice: Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the grains turn slightly translucent at the edges.
- Deglaze with wine: Pour in the white wine and stir until the rice has absorbed it completely, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add stock gradually: Add a ladleful of hot stock at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until the liquid is almost absorbed before adding the next. Continue for about 16-18 minutes until the rice is al dente with a creamy consistency. Remove the Parmesan rind from the stock pan before the last few ladles.
- Mantecato finish: Take the pan off the heat. Beat in the cold cubed butter and grated Parmesan, give it a gentle stir and put the lid on for 2-3 minutes so the rice absorbs the rich flavours. Serve immediately on warm plates, topped with Parmesan shavings and freshly cracked black pepper.
FAQs
What does mantecato mean and why does it matter?
Mantecato is the Italian word for the final step where you beat cold butter and cheese into hot risotto off the heat. Ramsay describes it in the Home Cooking “How To Make The Perfect Risotto” guide, saying to add butter and Parmesan then “give the risotto a gentle stir and put the lid back on for a few minutes.”
That resting time lets the cheese melt fully into the rice without the heat splitting the fat. Skip this step and you get greasy risotto with clumps of half-melted cheese sitting on top.
What is the best cheese for risotto?
Parmigiano Reggiano, always. Ramsay uses it in every risotto across all his cookbooks and never substitutes it. The aged version (24 months or more) gives you the strongest flavour.
Tesco Finest Parmigiano Reggiano costs £3.85 for 170g, which is more than enough for this recipe. Grana Padano works as a slightly cheaper alternative at about £3.00 for 200g, though the flavour is milder. Pre-grated Parmesan loses its punch quickly, so grate from a block if you can.
Can I add other cheeses to make a multi-cheese risotto?
You can stir in a tablespoon of mascarpone or a handful of Taleggio for a creamier finish, which is close to what Ramsay does in his tomato risotto from the Cookery Course where mascarpone goes in alongside the Parmesan. Pecorino adds sharpness, Gorgonzola adds funk. Just keep Parmesan as the base and treat everything else as an accent, because too many cheeses fight each other rather than working together.
How much does Parmesan risotto cost per serving?
About £6.40 for four servings, so roughly £1.60 per person. The Parmesan is the single biggest cost at about £2.80 for 100g. Rice, butter, wine, stock and aromatics are all cheap. This is the most affordable risotto on the site because there’s no protein to buy. His his chicken ballotine with potato gratin on the side turns it into a proper dinner for about £5 per person total.
Why must the stock be hot when you add it?
Adding cold stock drops the temperature of the pan and stops the rice cooking evenly, which makes it gummy instead of creamy. Ramsay makes this point on his YouTube risotto guide, saying “if we’re adding cold stock on top of the rice all the time it just slows down the process.”
Keep a second pan on a low simmer behind the risotto and ladle from there. It sounds like a small thing but it’s the difference between silky rice and stodgy rice.
Does Parmesan risotto store well?
It keeps for two days in the fridge and reheats well with a splash of stock over low heat. The cheese actually firms up into the rice overnight so the flavour gets more concentrated, which some people prefer. Freezes for a month but the texture softens. If you’re cooking ahead for guests, his a chicken wellington for something fancier holds its quality better between prep and serving. I’ve ranked all his risotto recipes by cost and difficulty if you want to try something more adventurous next.
