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ground beef risotto served on a plate
5 from 6 votes

Ground Beef Risotto

Blog: www.nextinlime.com

Author: Nelo
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil - or any cooking oil
  • 4 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 medium onion - finely chopped, about 1 cup
  • 3 medium tomatoes - fresh, diced
  • 1 pound (454 g) ground beef - aka beef mince (Note A)
  • 2 teaspoons salt - adjust as needed (Note B)
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 small bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 8 ounces (227 g) white or brown mushrooms - diced
  • 1.5 cups (300 g) arborio rice - (Note C)
  • 1 small chicken bouillon cube - or use granulated bouillon or chicken base (Note D)
  • 6 cups hot water
  • ½ cup (50 g) freshly grated parmesan - packed cup + some extra for garnishing
  • 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter - cubed (Note E)

Optional Garnishes

  • some chopped parsley

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add minced garlic and chopped onion. Saute 3 to 4 minutes or until the onion softens a bit and appears translucent.
  • Stir in diced tomatoes and cook another 4 to 6 minutes until they soften and get mushy.
  • Now add ground beef. Also add salt, ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, bay leaves, dried oregano. Turn up the heat to high. Break any meat lumps with your cooking spatula/spoon. Stir and cook until all the beef changes color and turns brown (around 7 to 10 minutes).
  • Toss in diced mushrooms and cook 5 more minutes. Stir frequently.
  • Next add arborio rice, stir 2 minutes to coat it with the beefy mix.
  • Turn down the heat to medium-low. Add in chicken bouillon cube and 1 cup of hot water. Stir frequently until the water is fully absorbed.
  • Continue adding hot water, ½ cup at a time. Also, stir constantly but gently. Allow each addition of water to be absorbed fully before adding next. The goal is to cook until the rice is creamy and cooked al dente (fully cooked but with a slight bite). And to get there, you may need a bit less or more water than I've mentioned. This rice cooking process may take up to 30 minutes. You want to maintain a low simmer throughout, so adjust the heat as and when needed.
  • Once the rice is done, add unsalted butter and grated parmesan. Stir until the butter melts. Then cover the skillet with lid, turn the heat off and let the risotto rest for 10 minutes.
  • Uncover, remove the bay leaves, taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve the risotto warm, optionally garnished with extra parmesan and chopped parsley.

Notes

Note A: Ground beef – leaner options can be used but I prefer a bit of fat (15 to 20%) for nice flavor. And thaw the meat fully before use.
Note B: Salt – adjust based on the saltiness of the bouillon cube, butter and cheese. If unsure, use a bit less, then adjust in the last step.
Note C: Arborio rice (aka risotto rice) – can't find it? look for short-grain starchy rice varieties such as carnaroli or vialone nano.
Note D: Chicken bouillon – use the amount recommended on package to make one cup of broth. Also, instead of chicken bouillon + water, you can use the same amount of hot chicken broth/stock. Use unsalted or low sodium options or your risotto may get too salty.
Note E: Butter – if using salted butter, reduce the quantity of added salt.
Note F: Helpful content – click on the links below for related useful content in the main body of the post.
Note G: Related – try this ground beef and corn skillet next.