Transform Plain Rice With This Dairy Addition You've Probably Overlooked

Sometimes you're just craving rice — there's no shame in that! But we wanted to find out if there was a way to spice up otherwise basic white rice. To do so, Chowhound spoke to Bar Sprezzatura's Executive Chef Trevor Kalafus at the New York City Wine & Food Festival at the Seaport. The answer? Add some cheese, and turn it into a uniquely creamy risotto.

"The most important thing when you're cooking risotto has to be the fact that you constantly keep it moving," Kalafus said. "As you're adding stock, you don't add it all in at once while you're stirring — you add it in as you go." 

The inclusion of only one extra ingredient can completely transform a bowl of plain rice. "The rice soaks up the flavor, and it creates its own sauce, essentially," Kalafus said. He also has recommendations for which kind of cheese to incorporate, suggesting Italian varieties known for their depth of flavor. "Vacche Rosse, if you can get it, which is the Pink Cow," he said. "I am partial to a Fontina DOP, which is ... sharper [and] a little bit more funky. And then always, always, always Caciocavallo."

On top of including some delicious cheese, Trevor Kalafus also has a few more ingredients he uses in rice or risotto. "You're always going to do a shallot," he said. "I use a chicken or a vegetable stock, sometimes a mushroom, which is classic." Kalafus also noted that the cheese and shallots complement each other nicely, similarly to a French onion soup.

There are also plenty of other ways to upgrade your plain rice without turning it into an entirely different dish. Try enhancing rice's flavors by toasting it, topping it with classic options like soy sauce and pepper, or adding even more unique ingredients like furikake (a Japanese seasoning) or garlic brown butter. The beautiful thing about rice is that it can act as the perfect base for just about anything. Breakfast, lunch, or dessert — there's a rice bowl waiting to happen. All you have to do is choose the toppings!