How to make perfect risotto — Laura Santtini | Life is Delicious! (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to making good risotto? ›

Always use warm stock.

Warming the broth before adding it to the warm rice coaxes more starch out of each grain of rice and helps prevent it from overcooking. Cool broth takes longer to warm up in the risotto pan and may shock the grain into holding onto its starches while the rice itself continues to cook.

Sautéed shallots, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, and thyme are used to build a robust and flavorful foundation on which arborio rice and hot stock are melded. With each stir of the spoon, the starches thicken, and the earthy essence of the mushrooms builds depth of flavor.

I prefer the flavor of chicken broth or stock in risotto. If you're vegetarian, vegetable broth or stock will be just fine. I use regular broth for this recipe and not low-sodium, if you use low sodium just be sure to taste test and add more salt at the end as needed. Parmesan cheese.

Add butter and a blend of cheeses for extra creaminess

The final touch to any risotto is the addition of butter and cheese. Here is where you definitely should not skimp on quality. Using good-quality butter in combination with good-quality cheese will create a final dish that will amaze.

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels. First and foremost, you don't have to run to the store to buy stock, which saves you time and money. Also, the flavor of store-bought broths or stocks varies widely and can sometimes overpower the other ingredients in your risotto.

One of the most surefire ways to ruin risotto is by overcooking it. Like pasta, the rice should be al dente—just cooked with a little bite to it. If you can mold your risotto into a shape, you've cooked it too long. When cooking risotto on a stove top, taste it periodically to test its doneness.

Adding a Good Wine: White wine is another important ingredient in risotto, adding acidity and depth of flavor. Use a dry white wine, like a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Including Additional Proteins and Vegetables: While risotto is delicious on its own, adding proteins and vegetables can take it to the next level.

The concept of mantecare, (the verb form of mantecatura) is an Italian cooking essential, one that's crucial to risotto. It comes from the Spanish word for butter and means to gently work something—usually a dish—into a creamy consistency by blending in some sort of fat or butter.

MAKING RISOTTO

Try not too add too much stock at once - you'll find it takes even longer for the rice to absorb it and the risotto won't achieve the same consistency.

Why add water bit by bit to risotto? ›

Friction, or grains scratching up against each other, is also why, unlike other rice dishes, you add risotto's liquid a little bit at a time. If you added the liquid all at once, the grains would just be floating around, not rubbing up against each other, not creating sauciness.

Never wash your rice beforehand as this removes the starch, which is what helps give risotto its smooth texture. Cook your risotto on a low, simmering heat and add the stock gradually, one ladle at a time. This gives the rice time to fully absorb the liquid and flavours. Rushing your risotto will only ruin its texture.

"Don't stress about constantly stirring risotto," Salvatore says. "It's much better to stir once every 30 seconds and trust the cooking process to do its thing." Over-stirring is one way to quickly ruin a risotto's texture.

The most important thing when preparing risotto is choosing the right rice, since long or sushi grains won't work. One chef favorite: carnaroli rice. Many recipes call for arborio, but longer-grained carnaroli is key to that sought-after creaminess (plus it's harder to overcook).

The basic principle of risotto is to beat the hell out of a rice kernel so that it releases as much starch as possible without overcooking. The more you stir, the more starch is released; the creamier the risotto. It is that simple!

When cooking risotto on a stovetop, you're required to periodically stir it to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Some people, however, stir it too frequently. This adds air into the risotto, cooling it down and making it gluey.