How to make the perfect risotto
Learn how to make the perfect risotto with Chef Giuseppe Lombardo from Vesuvio. Follow our step-by-step guide for a dish to be proud of. The first in our series of recipes from renowned local restaurants, this month we show you how to make aubergine parmigiana risotto - a new take on a Southern Italian classic.
Published 28 April, 2026
Chef Giuseppe Lombardo certainly knows a thing about Italian cooking. Vesuvio, his restaurant in Worsley, draws in fans from miles around and previously, he was Head Chef at Cicchetti. Before that, he worked at San Carlo. Giuseppe even did all the behind-the-scenes prepping and chopping for Aldo Zilli while the TV chef smiled for the cameras and waved a pan around. For Giuseppe, aubergine parmigiana holds a special place in his heart, reminding him of Sundays round the table with his family in Italy. In this risotto recipe, the aubergine parmigiana adds a sunny South Italian flavour to the classic rice dish.Chef Giuseppe Lombardo’s step-by-step guide to making aubergine parmigiana risotto
Serves 2
Step 1
Pre-heat the oven to 180Step 2
To make the aubergine caviar, put the flesh into a food processor along with the basil. Remove the garlic from its skin and add that too. Add a drizzle of olive oil and blend. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this in a bowl with the back of a fork. The texture will be different but the taste will be the same.Step 3
Heat up a pan of vegetable stock and keep it bubbling on the hob – the stock needs to be the same temperature as the risotto. Chef Giuseppe makes his own stock but you can use ready-made if you prefer. Next toast the rice to bring out its flavour. You do not need to toast arborio rice if you are using that instead. Add a drizzle of olive oil and 25g of cubed, frozen butter – keeping the butter cold helps it emulsify. Then add two ladles of stock and wait for it to be absorbed. Keep the risotto on a medium heat so the stock doesn’t evaporate too quickly. Give the pan a stir every 2 minutes. The risotto will take 12 – 17 minutes to cook. Arborio will take towards the lower end of the cooking time, whilst carnaroli rice will take towards the upper end. When there is no stock left, it’s ready. There should be a little texture but it shouldn’t be chalky.Step 4
Meanwhile, slice and cube the second aubergine reserving a few very thin slices for garnish. Put it in a hot frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil and the second garlic clove. Keep the garlic en camicia (in its shirt) as the Italians say. This stops the garlic flavour being overpowering and stops the garlic burning and tasting bitter. It also stops you getting garlic breath too.Step 5
Heat up the passata in a pan. In the same pan you fried the diced aubergine, make a parmesan crisp. It’s a way to give a fancy touch and a bit of texture to your risotto. Add a big handful of grated parmesan to the pan and let it melt. After a few minutes, take it off the heat and peel it out of the pan. You can also fry a few leaves of basil and the thin slices of aubergine to make aubergine crisps.Step 6
Five minutes before the end of the risotto cooking time, add half of the aubergine caviar. Turn the pan up to a high heat to reduce the risotto and make it creamy. There’s no need to use cream in a risotto.The creaminess comes from the starch released from the rice.Step 7
Take the pan off the heat and add the rest of the aubergine caviar and stir it in along with a drizzle of olive oil and most of the fried diced aubergine, leaving a little in reserve to garnish. Add 25g of frozen diced butter and leave the risotto to cool a little before adding three good handfuls of grated parmesan – that’s why it’s called aubergine parmigiana. If you don’t cool the risotto a little first, the parmesan goes stringy.Step 8
Serve the risotto on a plate not a bowl – that’s the Italian way. Hit the bottom of the plate to spread the risotto out. Drizzle over some of the passata and the reserved diced aubergine. Top with broken up shards of the parmesan crisp, some fried basil leaves and some aubergine crisps. Finally, add some lemon zest to bring freshness.Ingredients
2 aubergines
2 garlic cloves
1 bottle of passata
140g of carnaroli rice (arborio rice could be used instead)
basil
grated parmesan
500ml of vegetable stock
lemon
50g frozen butter, cubed
To discover what the perfect risotto really tastes like, put down your pans and book a table at Vesuvio.
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Summary
Jo Milligan is one of the main writers at Confidential Guides. She has almost fifteen years experience as a writer and copywriter specialising in writing about food, restaurants, bars, events and family days out in the North West of England. Her work includes features, reviews, articles and practical guides designed to help readers make the most of their city and beyond.
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Jo writes a range of pieces for Confidential Guides. She understands the local food scene and as a parent to two young children, has a lot of experience in planning days out and activities for families. Her articles, features and guides are underpinned by knowledge, authority and an informed but conversational style.
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