Risotto Recipe
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Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Traditional Risotto:
4 cups water
2 cubes Knorr Bouillon
(1 chicken, 1 vegetable; 2 fish for seafood risotto; 2 beef for meat Risotto; 2 vegetable for vegans)
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. onion, finely chopped
Meat Risotto:
Red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. pancetta or ham, chopped
Sausage or veal scallops, cut into strips
Tomato, chopped (optional)
Porcini mushrooms (optional)
Dash Italian seasoning
Seafood Risotto:
Shrimp or lobster or fish
Tomato, chopped
Cook Rice:
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white Italian or French vermouth
Broth
Vegetables of choice
The Finish:
Broth
2 tbsp. Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
Butter
Pepper
2 tbsp. aged imported Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tbsp. skim milk Mozzarella, grated
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Directions: |
Directions:There are three basic steps.
First Step
The foundation, which is always the same. Measurements assume 4 people are eating.
Heat the water in a medium saucepan to a boil and add the bouillon cubes (flavor of bouillon depends on dish you are making). Reserve and keep on low heat.
Add the butter and olive oil to a new pan. Use a large 4-quart pan to accommodate the room needed to vigorously stir. When hot (don't burn the butter) add garlic and onion. Saute until soft, about 2 minutes over medium heat.
That's the basic flavor foundation. If you are just making the simple rice as a side dish, there is no need to add anything else. But for a meatier dish, follow below:
At this point, I often add a few red pepper flakes for heat or the pancetta (Italian bacon) or chopped ham if I'm making a meat dish like sausage risotto. You can also add porcini mushrooms. If you are making a meaty dish, like Italian sausage or veal scallops cut into thin strips, then add to the pan and cook the meat through. This leaves the flavor in the pan for the rice to absorb. Shake a dash of Italian seasoning on the meat using a wooden spoon to break up the meat.
If you are using more delicate ingredients like shrimp, lobster, fish or vegetables, saute in a separate frying pan in a little extra virgin olive oil and/or butter and add some chopped tomato. Cook through and reserve.
Second Step
Having built your foundation, now you cook the rice!
Add the Arborio rice to the pan and immediately set the timer for 18 minutes. Stir the rice continuously to absorb the juices in the pan. Within 1 and 1/2 minutes over medium heat or slightly higher heat, the rice will have dried out the pan and start to stick. At this point, pour in the dry white Italian or French vermouth. It will sizzle and bubble and the alcohol will burn off. If you don't like the alcohol, you can just use some reserved broth. Stir constantly, keeping everything equally moist so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. When the bottom of the pan starts to dry out, add broth (about 1/2 to 3/4 cups). It should just cover the rice and bubble. If it ain't bubbling, you need to turn up the heat a little to keep it percolating.
This is how the rice cooks. It absorbs the hot liquid. You will notice that it will really start to expand in volume; which is why you are using that big 4-quart pan. Stir, add broth as it dries out, stir some more.
At the 10-minute mark, add chopped, soft vegetables like zucchini that will cook in the moist rice. I chop asparagus and throw it in the broth for 4 minutes, then with a big slotted spoon, add them to the rice. Everything cooks together, so no worries.
At the 14-minute mark, if you are making seafood, add it to the pan (instead of broth) and stir, cooking through to combine these flavors (the shrimp and tomato or lobster mixture -- whatever it is). As long as you are stirring and adding liquid as necessary, you are doing it right. You have cooked your Risotto and completed the second of the 3 stages.
Third Step
Finally -- the big finish.
Splash a last bit of broth on the top of the rice. Add the Italian flat leaf parsley, a small pat of butter, a generous grind of pepper, and the Parmesan cheese. I like to add 2 tablespoons of grated skim milk mozzarella as well.
Thoroughly stir with your wooden spoon and immediately cover. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve. It will be al dente -- firm, chewy kernels with a separate consistency and super creamy.
Risotto is meant to be served right away, so hopefully you have everyone assembled. It can sit for 15 minutes or so, but you will notice the difference in consistency if you push much later.
One final note: I laid the recipe out this way to maximize the flexibility of the technique. Obviously, the various ingredients need to be chopped and prepped before you start, because there is no real stopping place in the process. If you are making the risotto as a side dish or first course, you have to prepare the other food first and make the risotto last. |
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: You cook the rice by adding broth and stirring, which results in even heat throughout. It is designed to be served immediately. There are many variations and all are easy to make and can be meals, an elegant side dish or, in smaller portions, served as a first course.
You can make risotto (literally hundreds of variations) by deciding what ingredients you want, and adding them with enough time to cook. I suggest cooking them on the side and add to the rice at the final stage. I like to try to meld flavors at the earliest point in the cooking process that makes sense, but there is so much flexibility that it is hard to go wrong. For example, in the case of a sausage risotto, you could add tomato during the early stages along with the sausage and it will cook down and be subordinate to the other flavors, or at the end of the cooking process if you want it more "tomato-y" tasting. Experiment away because as long as the rice is cooked for 18 minutes in hot broth, it will all work.
Restaurants seem to have perfected a par cooking way to offer risotto on the menu, but I don't know how to do that.
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