What Pairs Well With Risotto?
Risotto can be prepared in many ways and thus pairs well with many things, but among its best matches are rosemary pork tenderloin and a lightly smoked dish of haddock. The risotto prepared alongside these main courses are, respectively, creamy mushroom risotto and a leek risotto, which reflect the very different character of the respective dishes and the meals they ground.
Rosemary pork tenderloin is a savory and intricately flavorful dish that lends itself well to the creamy, simple flavors of risotto. Preparing risotto in a creamy broth of mushroom sauce amplifies the contrast between the two dishes while also bringing some texture to the palette of flavors in the risotto.
Smoked haddock has a woody, definite flavor that plays well off the astringency of leek risotto. Prepared with leeks the risotto takes on not just their flavor but also a more complicated texture due to the crunch of the leeks themselves mixed in with the risotto.
Risotto is at its best advantage when it reflects in a less complex manner the qualities of the main dish with which it will be served. It is an able side dish that can be fortified, complicated or simply served plain depending on the needs of the menu.
