Food - Drink
The Absolute Best Wine Substitute When Making Risotto
By VANESSA NIX ANTHONY
Once you master making risotto, it becomes a versatile dish that you can play with by adding, subtracting, or changing ingredients. Many risotto recipes call for wine to enhance or compliment flavors and balance the dish with a bit of acidity, but you can replace wine with something else and still make a delicious risotto.
If you don't want to add alcohol to your risotto, simply add more broth to your recipe to replace it, but know that you may lose some flavor complexity. Other alcohols like dry sherry, vodka, or gin can replace the complexity and acidity of wine, and a squeeze of citrus like lemon or lime can help to brighten the dish, as well.
Unsweetened grape or apple juice can also lend complexity to a risotto, but the easiest replacement for wine is vinegar. Sherry vinegar works great for mushroom risotto, and you can use white or red wine vinegar in place of white or red wine; just be careful not to overdo it, since you're aiming for aroma and complexity, not sourness.