Creamy Zucchini Risotto with Scamorza Cheese

Easy, satisfying and comforting, creamy zucchini risotto with scamorza cheese is a first course that's perfect for family dinners.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Servings -6 servings

Calories 651kcal

Place the vegetable broth in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Keep it simmering while you prepare the risotto.
Slice the zucchini into quarters, lengthwise, then chop crosswise. Dice your onion and cut cheese into cubes.
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan and add onion. Sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Stir in the chopped zucchini, a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until it begins to soften. The end result will be zucchini that is tender but not mushy. If you prefer softer zucchini, continue cooking a few minutes longer before adding the rice in the next step.
Add the arborio rice, stir to coat in the olive oil and toast the rice, about 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and cook, stirring, until it evaporates, about 1 minute.
Begin adding a ladle of simmering broth at a time and stir until the liquid is absorbed. You will know when it's time to add more broth when you drag your wooden spoon across the pan and you can see the bottom of the pan and it is dry.
After about 30 minutes, when the rice is tender but still has some bite to it, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheese. If the rice is not cooked through and you run out of broth, bring some water to a simmer and add as needed.
Taste and adjust seasoning by adding salt if necessary. Then add the cubed scamorza cheese, stir gently and serve hot.

Cheese substitutes:

Try a smoked scamorza for extra flavor or any other variety of Italian cheese that melts well such as caciocavallo; provola or fontina.

Can the zucchini for this recipe be grated instead of diced?

If you're not crazy about larger chunks of zucchini in your risotto you may opt to grate it instead. Since grated zucchini will not take long to cook, stir it in about midway through cooking, after about 15 minutes.