Features
Making the perfect risotto
Risotto is the ultimate in Italian comfort food - warming, satisfying and an incredibly versatile dish. Master the basic recipe and you will never be more than half an hour away from the very best store cupboard supper.
You can play with flavours, adding meats, fish or vegetables at whim, but the method is always the same. Risotto is made by gradually stirring hot stock into softened onions and rice until it has all been absorbed, leaving it creamy but with firm individual grains.
In this feature
What you'll need
How to do it
Variations
Leftovers
Arborio is a large grained rice (superfino) with a high level of surface starch. This means it breaks down to give the very creamiest texture and a dense, sticky risotto.
Vialone nano has smaller, round grains (semifino) so they keep their shape better during cooking giving a risotto with more bite. It works well when you are stirring in robust ingredients as the grains are less likely to break down.
Carnaroli is known as the king of the rice. It is a superfino grain with a good balance of the two starches. This means it gives a creamy texture but retains some bite – perfect for simple risottos with few ingredients.
The other components of the dish are softened vegetables, good stock, cold butter and Parmesan to beat in at the end. A base of vegetables, known as the soffritto, gives the risotto depth of flavour - it usually consists simply of onions or shallots, cooked until meltingly soft. The stock you use is important too as it will flavour the whole dish. You can use vegetable or fish stock, but the gelatine in a homemade chicken stock will help give risotto a lovely texture as well as flavour. A little wine can also add another layer of taste. Finally you need some rich fats, known as the mantecatura, to beat into the risotto at the end of cooking. Most recipes will call for butter, which must be cold to stop it splitting, and finely grated Parmesan which will dissolve in the heat and emulsify with the dish.
2. Turn up the heat and add the rice to the pan, about 100g per person is a hearty portion. Stir for a minute or two so that every grain is coated in the fat and warmed through. Add a glass of wine or vermouth and stir until it is completely evaporated.
3. It is now time to start adding the stock. Keep it simmering in a separate pan so that it doesn’t bring down the temperature of the risotto, which you want to keep at a lively simmer. Add the stock slowly, ladle by ladle, stirring until it has almost all cooked out before adding more – you never want to drown the rice with the liquid, but don’t let it dry out either. Throughout this process continual stirring will release the starch from the rice, giving a creamy texture.
You will need about 500ml stock to 100g rice, but the amount will vary depending on the variety of rice and the heat of the pan. About 20 minutes after you start adding the stock, the risotto should be ready – the grains tender but still retaining some bite. You can have it soupy and creamy or drier and stickier depending on preference. In Italy the consistency varies regionally, but usually people want a soft texture so that it will ripple in waves when you tilt the pan.
4. At some point you will want to add your main ingredient. The time you add it depends on how sturdy the ingredient is – robust ingredients like squash or sausage can go in at the beginning while you should add delicate vegetables towards the end of the cooking time.
5. When the rice is ready, take the pan off the heat and cool for a minute before beating in the cold butter and finely grated Parmesan. Season. Cover the pan for 2 minutes, then serve at once – risotto doesn’t like to hang around. Italians will always serve it on plates or shallow dishes, not in bowls.
Alla Milanese: onion, saffron and chopped beef marrow
Nero: chopped cuttlefish or squid and their ink
Alla marinara: various seafoods
Primavera: spring vegetables
Risi e bisi: pancetta, onions and green peas
Traditionally risotto is served alone, as a dish before the main course. Two notable exceptions are the saffron risottos served with Cotolette alla Milanese and Osso Buco.
Arancini with Melting Mozzarella Centres
By Eleanor Smallwood
In this feature
What you'll need
How to do it
Variations
Leftovers
What you’ll need
It is important that you use a risotto rice as the stubby grains have a high starch content giving risotto its texture. They are made of two starches: the inner kernel is a firm starch called amylase which breaks down slowly, ensuring the centre has that all important bite, while on the surface is a soft starch, amylopectin, which swells and dissolves during cooking making the risotto creamy. There are three common varieties of risotto rice to choose between depending on what texture of risotto you are after or what ingredients you are planning to add.Arborio is a large grained rice (superfino) with a high level of surface starch. This means it breaks down to give the very creamiest texture and a dense, sticky risotto.
Vialone nano has smaller, round grains (semifino) so they keep their shape better during cooking giving a risotto with more bite. It works well when you are stirring in robust ingredients as the grains are less likely to break down.
Carnaroli is known as the king of the rice. It is a superfino grain with a good balance of the two starches. This means it gives a creamy texture but retains some bite – perfect for simple risottos with few ingredients.
The other components of the dish are softened vegetables, good stock, cold butter and Parmesan to beat in at the end. A base of vegetables, known as the soffritto, gives the risotto depth of flavour - it usually consists simply of onions or shallots, cooked until meltingly soft. The stock you use is important too as it will flavour the whole dish. You can use vegetable or fish stock, but the gelatine in a homemade chicken stock will help give risotto a lovely texture as well as flavour. A little wine can also add another layer of taste. Finally you need some rich fats, known as the mantecatura, to beat into the risotto at the end of cooking. Most recipes will call for butter, which must be cold to stop it splitting, and finely grated Parmesan which will dissolve in the heat and emulsify with the dish.
How to do it
1. Finely chop the vegetables for your soffritto – you want them to blend into the rice, not leave visible chunks of onion. Sweat them gently in butter in a wide, heavy bottomed pan, until they are softened but not coloured.2. Turn up the heat and add the rice to the pan, about 100g per person is a hearty portion. Stir for a minute or two so that every grain is coated in the fat and warmed through. Add a glass of wine or vermouth and stir until it is completely evaporated.
3. It is now time to start adding the stock. Keep it simmering in a separate pan so that it doesn’t bring down the temperature of the risotto, which you want to keep at a lively simmer. Add the stock slowly, ladle by ladle, stirring until it has almost all cooked out before adding more – you never want to drown the rice with the liquid, but don’t let it dry out either. Throughout this process continual stirring will release the starch from the rice, giving a creamy texture.
You will need about 500ml stock to 100g rice, but the amount will vary depending on the variety of rice and the heat of the pan. About 20 minutes after you start adding the stock, the risotto should be ready – the grains tender but still retaining some bite. You can have it soupy and creamy or drier and stickier depending on preference. In Italy the consistency varies regionally, but usually people want a soft texture so that it will ripple in waves when you tilt the pan.
4. At some point you will want to add your main ingredient. The time you add it depends on how sturdy the ingredient is – robust ingredients like squash or sausage can go in at the beginning while you should add delicate vegetables towards the end of the cooking time.
5. When the rice is ready, take the pan off the heat and cool for a minute before beating in the cold butter and finely grated Parmesan. Season. Cover the pan for 2 minutes, then serve at once – risotto doesn’t like to hang around. Italians will always serve it on plates or shallow dishes, not in bowls.
Variations
Originally a staple of Northern Italy, there are regional variations of risotto from all over the country. Some of the classics are:Alla Milanese: onion, saffron and chopped beef marrow
Nero: chopped cuttlefish or squid and their ink
Alla marinara: various seafoods
Primavera: spring vegetables
Risi e bisi: pancetta, onions and green peas
Traditionally risotto is served alone, as a dish before the main course. Two notable exceptions are the saffron risottos served with Cotolette alla Milanese and Osso Buco.
Leftovers
The perfect way to use up leftover risotto is to make Arancini, deep fried rice balls. Roll cold risotto around small cubes of mozzarella, coat in breadcrumbs and deep fry until they are crisp on the outside and melting in the middle. I always make a little extra risotto as this treat the next day is almost the best bit.Arancini with Melting Mozzarella Centres
By Eleanor Smallwood
