Risotto

It never ceases to amaze me how many opinions there are on making risotto, many of which are rice dishes but bear little resemblance to this dish in which starch masquerades very successfully as fat to give an unctuous mouth feel.

Here is a guide to risotto that can be adapted to any ingredients. And yes I do stir continually and add the liquid gradually rather than all at once.

The stock

First start off with a good quality stock. I mainly use chicken as it is quite neutral in taste and seems to complement most of the ingredients.

The rice

Next, choose the rice. Three main types of rice are used in making risotto. These are all short-grained rice derived from the Japonica variety that are grown in Italy. The main rices used in risotto are:

1.         Arborio,

2.         Carnaroli, and

3.         Vialone Nano.

While they all make excellent risottos, they tend to absorb different amounts of stock, all come up with a different texture in terms of: 1. creaminess from absorbing the stock, and 2. the al dente nature of the finished product.

In my experience, Arborio makes a mouth filling, al dente risotto. Carnaroli gives similar results but is a bit less fussy in cooking than Arborio in that it is less likely to absorb too much liquid and become gluggy. Vialone Nano seems to absorb more liquid than the others while maintaining its structure and results in a soft textured risotto, which ripples when you tip the bowl. Giorgio Locatelli refers to this as “all’ondo” or “of waves.”

I have it on good authority from a correspondent in Italy that Arborio and Carnaroli are generally used when preparing meat risottos or plain Milanese and Piedmontese white risotto with truffles. Vialone Nano is preferred for vegetable and seafood risottos.

Quantities

Typically for a first course of risotto for four people, you will need around 300g of rice.

The amount of liquid will vary dependent on the rice that you use, heat, and various other factors.  Typically for 300g of rice, you will need around 1.25l of stock. That having been said, you really need to taste and know when to stop cooking rather than just use the amount of liquid recommended in a cookbook. I tend to stop just before it is done when it is still a little more al dente than I like. This is done because the rice is rested before serving and it continues to cook while this is being done.

Adding Other Ingredients

The time at which you add other ingredients depends very much on how long they take to cook to get to their perfect eating texture. For example, if you are using dark chicken meat from the thigh, you will add the meat at the start of cooking. If you are using breast meat, which has a tendency to dry out with extended cooking, you will add it probably more towards the middle of the cooking process. Prawns should be added towards the end of cooking so they just heat through.

For vegetables, think of it in terms of when you add them when making a stew: root vegetables which require more cooking are added early while vegetables that require less cooking are added later or when finishing.

If the ingredients contain liquid, for example mushrooms, you will need less stock.

Basic ingredients

Apart from rice and stock, the basic ingredients for a risotto include onion, oil, white wine, grated parmesan cheese, and butter.

To make enough for four people, use ½ large onion, finely diced; 200ml white wine; 125g grated parmesan cheese; and 2 tbsp butter.

You will need a saucepan large enough to take the completed risotto as well as another to hold all the stock.

Basic summary of method

Heat the stock until it is hot but below a slow simmer.

• Heat oil in pan
• Sweat onion until translucent
• Add rice to oil, stir until well covered do not brown
• Add wine, cook until it evaporates
• Add hot stock one ladle at a time (it needs to be a high enough heat to cook quite vigorously). Stir until absorbed
• Add another ladle of stock, stir
• Continue adding stock and stirring as each ladleful is absorbed
•  As stock comes near to being absorbed, taste for consistency
• If you have used all the stock and the rice is still undercooked, substitute water and continue until it is ready
• Whip in parmesan cheese and butter
• Rest for a few minutes, covered
• Serve

It should only take around 20-30 minutes from start to finish.