Updated 02.02.26
In case you haven’t noticed in my recipes, I love adding cheese to dishes. All sorts of cheese, from the plain old Cheddar or Gouda, to the more ‘exotic’ or less common. For those who share my love for cheese, this Taleggio is a washed-rind cheese from Italy, semi-soft to soft. This cheese can be stinky and sticky, but it is ooooh so creamy, gooey and delicious. Mixed in with the risotto the stinky part is gone, the flavor remains.
If you’re comfortable with just cheddar and Goudas and other traditional American cheeses, all is good. I do hope, once in a while you’ll try a cheese you’ve never tried/tasted before, get over you ‘fear’. What is the worst that can happen? You don’t like it! Well, then you know and you can move on, but I guarantee you that you will learn of new cheeses that you will love and cherish and would want to add to your repertoire, to your next cheese board and share with friends and family. I know I do that frequently.
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Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Onion – or shallot
- Prosciutto
- Arborio rice – or carnaroli rice
- White wine
- Chicken broth – or vegetable broth
- Taleggio cheese
- Parsley
Making this recipe is rather straight forward, especially if you’ve made risotto before. If you have not, please check this post.
This quick video gives you a visual guide to the recipe, from prep to finished dish.
How to Make Risotto with Taleggio & Prosciutto
Step 1 – Heat butter in a high walled skillet or Dutch oven and saute the onion and Prosciutto until crispy. Stir regularly, you don’t want it to burn. Remove from pan and allow to drain on a paper towel.
Step 2 – Heat the remaining butter in the same pan, add the rice and stir until every grain is coated with the butter.
Step 3 – Add the white wine and stir until all the wine is absorbed by the rice.
Step 4 – Add the chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you prefer) ladle by ladle and allow the rice to absorb the liquid before you add the next ladle. Make sure the stock is not cold; warm it before you add it to the risotto.
Step 5 – Cut the rind off the Taleggio cheese and cut it in small cubes, but leave a few slices aside for later.
Once the rice has absorbed almost all the broth, add the cheese and mix until melted; the risotto will look creamy and delicious. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Step 6 – Transfer risotto onto 2 plates or bowls and place slices of reserved Taleggio slices on top; it will start melting instantly as the risotto is hot.
The color alone will make you want to dig in.
- Step 7 – Then place the onion-Prosciutto mixture on top of the risotto and garnish with chopped parsley.
Most traditional risotto recipes start with sauteing an onion, before adding the rice. I deviated from this a little bit.
- As you hopefully read, I sauteed the onion and the Prosciutto ham together until crispy. Transferred that mixture to a kitchen towel to drain and then made the risotto in the same pan. This means that all the flavor that remained in the skillet after the sauteing will be transferred into the risotto. It also means that the color of the risotto will be warm.
- I did not start the risotto in the traditional way, by sauteing an onion first. I skipped that part because I already created an onion-Prosciutto mixture.
The image below shows you the same risotto recipe, but here I sauteed the onion and Prosciutto in a separate skillet and started the risotto in a clean skillet. I still skipped the step of sauteing the onion and you can see the big difference is the end result. The risotto is cream colored and the flavor of the onion and Prosciutto is solely in the topping, not in the rice.
Either way delicious in my opinion, just a slightly different look.
Other Recipes with Taleggio Cheese to Try
Risotto with Taleggio & Prosciutto
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 1.5 ounces onion, chopped, about 1/4 onion
- 1 tablespoon butter, divided
- 2 ounces Prosciutto, sliced and chopped
- 3/4 cup Arborio rice, Carnaroli rice
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 6 ounces Taleggio cheese, rind removed
- salt & pepper
- parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a skillet and saute the onion and Prosciutto until crispy.
- Heat the other 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a Dutch oven or high walled skillet, add the rice and stir until every grain is coated with the butter. Add the white wine and stir until all the wine is absorbed by the rice.
- Add the vegetable stock ladle by ladle and allow the rice to absorb the liquid before you add the next ladle. (NOTE 1)
- Cut the rind off the Taleggio cheese and cut in cubes, but leave a few slices to add at the very last moment on top of the risotto. Add the cheese cubes to the rice and mix until melted and you have a creamy texture.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide risotto over 2 plates, place Taleggio sliced on top of the steaming hot risotto and allow cheese to melt just a little.
- Transfer onion-ham mixture on top of risotto and sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
- Always make sure the liquids you add to risotto are warm, not cold.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.