Add the rice and 4 cups chicken stock into a dutch oven.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Remove from the oven and add in all of the other ingredients, including the leftover 1 cup chicken stock.
Stir vigorously for a few minutes until the rice is thick and the cheese is creamy.
Add more crushed pepper over the top and serve hot.
Notes
Recipe Tips
Use Italian short-grain rice.
Don't use cold stock. Adding cold stock to a hot pan will cool everything down and ruin the cooking process. Keep stock at a simmer in a small pan so everything stays hot and cooks evenly.
Stir the rice often but don't over stir. Stirring the rice constantly will add air into the rice, cooling it down and making it gluey. But if you don't stir enough, the rice will stick to the bottom and burn.
Agitating the rice is important because risotto's creaminess comes from the starch generated when grains of rice rub against each other.
Make sure you don't overcook the rice. It should not be overly mushy and starchy.