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Multi-Grain Risotto Recipe

Risotto and pasta are often compared in the culinary world, as both are versatile and can be altered to fit the season and its bounty of ingredients. We also know them as ultimate comfort foods. In Italian cuisine, risotto and pasta are the two first courses par excellence.

Chef Dennis Merritt's fresh take on the grain is a prime example of its versatility. This delicious Multi-Grain Risotto recipe can not only elevate your dinner menu but also help create a truly flavor-packed dining experience. Also, don’t be too shy to add other ingredients here and there for your own special touch! 

About Chef Dennis Merritt

Chef Dennis Merritt, a highly accomplished Virginia chef, has worked his way through some of Virginia's top kitchens. He prioritizes a hyper-seasonal menus, carefully curated to feature produce and ingredients from locally sourced farmers. Merritt even worked under Chef Grant Achatz in Chicago at one of the most demanding kitchens in the culinary industry. He strongly believes in the importance of the overall artistry that goes into each dish and strives to feature innovation, seasonality and creativity.

Chef Dennis Merritt making risotto during his time as Executive Chef at the Quirk Hotel in Charlottesville

Image by Jen Fariello

""I love incorporating seasonal items or putting a twist on a well-known dish."

“I don’t give myself restrictions, allowing the culinary experience for diners to be unique through every bite," Merritt says. "I love incorporating seasonal items or putting a twist on a well-known dish. I’ve been fortunate to have access to so many of the region’s most impressive artisans, purveyors and farmers to source from and to be inspired by.”

The History of Rice Dishes & Risotto

For centuries, the use of rice has been a major staple in cultures all around the world. Risotto, a northern Italian favorite, is often made with broth derived from meat, fish or vegetables until it reaches a creamy consistency. Over the years, risotto has became an innovative dish withstanding the test of time while still leaving diners satisfied and full.

This multi-grain risotto recipe gives room for the chef's creativity, allowing you to replace some of the vegetables in the recipe with greens you might like a tad more. For example, feel free to substitute in peas, spinach leaves and asparagus. If you're looking to be more health conscious, add more high fiber ingredients to the mix, such as cherry tomatoes, brown rice and chopped celery.

Which Rice or Grain Works Best for Risotto?

There are many varieties of rice to choose from, and some are more suitable than others for preparing risotto. Rice types include common, semi-fine, fine or superfine groups based on the shape of the grain and the way it is cooked. Rice that falls within the fine and superfine groups hold better in cooking and are ideal for using in a risotto recipe because they cook more slowly and remain more al dente. Arborio, Carnaroli, and Vialone Nano are three kinds of traditional risotto rice with a high starch content.

Best Virginia Wine Pairing for Risotto

Wine lovers will be happy to hear that this Multi-Grain Risotto Recipe pairs wonderfully with Virginia-made wines, making dinner an occasion rather than just an ordinary night. When pairing wine with a heartier risotto using more of a cream base, it's best to find a white wine that's not too intrusive either in terms of fruit character or tannin, but that can also stand on its own. A Virginia Chardonnay or Viognier is the perfect pairing. Some excellent choices among Virginia wines include Horton Vineyards' Viognier and Michael Shaps' Chardonnay (included in the 2025 Governor's Cup Case.)

Multi-Grain Risotto Recipe

By recipe by Chef Dennis Merritt | photo by Jen Fariello

Charlottesville Chef Dennis Merritt shares his Multi-Grain Risotto Recipe. See how this dish can be seasonalized and personalized.

Yield
4

Ingredients

  • 250 g dry grain of your choice
  • 800 g water
  • 30 g fresh thyme
  • 3 ea crushed garlic
  • 1 ea bay leaf
  • 1/2 ea yellow onion, halved
  • 1 ea shallot, halved
  • 1 ea carrot, peeled and quartered
  • 15 g salt
  • 2000 g heavy cream
  • 1 ea shallot, halved
  • 50 g thyme
  • 50 g rosemary
  • 50 g marjoram
  • 2 ea crushed garlic

Method

  1. Place each grain of your choice in a separate pot with Mire Poix (a mixture of sautéed chopped vegetables used in various sauces), and cook on medium heat until tender.
  2. Once tender, pour all into a baking pan to cool.
  3. Once cool, pull out all but the grain and set aside. Do this with four different grains.
  4. In a 4-quart sauce pot, combine cream and Mire Poix, and reduce on low heat to 1,000 g. Then strain.
  5. Mix the four grains with half of the double cream, a tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt in a medium pot on low heat until creamy and hot, folding not stirring.
  6. Finish with Parmesan cheese.

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Virginia native FRANCIS SWINSON is a graduate of the University of Virginia and loves to write about the many adventures that come with traveling around the globe.

JEN FARIELLO has been taking beautiful photographs since 1996, specializing in journalistic, fine art wedding and portrait photography. Jen’s work has been featured in many regional and national publications like Time, People, Rolling Stone, Southern Weddings, The Knot, Weddings Unveiled, Southern Living and Wine & Country Weddings.

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