The basics of cooking risotto are very very easy. Take rice. Add stock gradually. Stir for 20 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!
Hmm. Let’s take a little bit more time to explore, to be mindful.
Ingredient Notes
Rice: Use only arborio rice(or other Italian risotto rice), otherwise it is not a risotto, it is a rice dish. Arborio has special characteristics (the releasing of its starch) that allow it to become creamy and yummy with constant stirring.
Really, make sure that you have a risotto rice, such as arborio. It is absorbent and becomes creamy on cooking and stirring. Try various arborio rices until you find one that suits you – I used to routinely use an imported Italian brand, then used an Australian brand (Riviana) which was really superior to the one that I had been using, in the creaminess of the final dish. Right at the moment I am experimenting with another Italian brand, good for drier risottos.
Recipe Notes
Risotto a creamy, moist, flavoursome rice dish, Italian in origin, that is very, very easy to make. It does take around 20 minutes at the stove (stirring). The basis of all risotto dishes is the same.
But, please, do not skimp on the process described below – you shortcut it, and the dish loses some creaminess. It does take 20 minutes, but that time is a beautiful, meditative time where you can think your thoughts and stir your love into the rice.
I once wrote on my old site (I first cooked risotto in 1997):
Finally, most risottos should be served moist, almost like a very thick soup. A dry risotto is not worth eating
.
Now I can say that although my favourite is a very moist risotto, in Italy there are types of risotto that are drier, and over the past few months, I have been experimenting with an Italian Rice which is especially for drier risottos. BUT NOT SO DRY IT IS INEDIBLE. In fact it is still a little moist.
Incidentally, Arborio is the name of a village in the Po River Valley in northern Italy, where this variety of rice was first grown.
How to cook Basic Risotto
Source : from my old Food_Matters web site
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 4 – 6 people, depending how you use it
ingredients
2 Tblspn Olive Oil
25 g butter
200 g arborio rice
5 cups simmering light stock or water
a little dry white wine (optional)
parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
method
Have the water or stock (home-made vege stock is ideal), simmering on the stove. A little white wine in the stock is good.
In a separate, heavy-based saucepan, heat the oil and butter. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil and butter. Stir for 2 minutes until you hear a cracking sound and the rice becomes translucent. Add a ladle of the simmering water or stock, and stir until it is absorbed.
Continue adding more liquid in this manner until the rice is cooked. Taste after 18 minutes. The rice should be firm to the bite. If you like it less chalky, cook for up to another 5 minutes, so that it is tender in the middle, but not soft.
Remove from the heat, add the extra flavourings (see separate recipes coming soon…..). You can add any vegetable that has been pre-cooked – mushrooms, or peas, even beans. Add asparagus, spinach or tomatoes (raw or cooked). Char grilled capsicums. Ruby Red Tomato Bites. Go wild. I once did a char-grilled capsicum and steamed broccoli with pine nuts, because that is what I envisioned when I saw the broccoli in the green grocers.
Stir through a small knob of butter and a large knob of Parmesan cheese, grated. Add salt and pepper. Some people add some cream or creme fraiche, but if you have a good risotto rice, you don’t need this.
Season and stir. Serve.
A risotto with simply some Parmesan cheese, a few herbs tossed through, and a dusting of salt and pepper is a great and simple dish on its own.
That’s it. That’s the basics. Just 20 minutes of stirring. Enjoy!
Read some more:
- My Food Blog has a lovely asparagus and saffron risotto.
Rice Series
- Caramelised Pumpkin Risotto
- Go Spanish – Tomato Paella
- Play Nice with Rice – Cooking Rice
- Risotto Basics 101
- Rizogalo – Greek Rice Pudding
- Steamy Buttery Rice
Possibly Related Posts:
More Food, Cooking and Recipes:
I adore risotto…I loved your informative post
Rice is my favourite form of carbo loading and I agree, arborio is very good for it. Carnaroli is another Italian risotto rice, and I have even used shortgrained fat pudding rice (also very starchy) in a pinch and it has worked just fine. I love the roasted peppers and would be happy to eat this gorgeous dish at least 5 times a week!
Perfectly described risotto technique.
I’m going to show my partner your post – he loves risotto, but always stuffs it up somehow. Not being mindful, methinks.
Great Post…a nice balance of amazing writing, great info and fab photos.
Added your blog as a link on my food blog
Sorry for late replies – my family is staying with me and life is very busy. Thanks Sunita – we had a risotto again last night. This time a tomato risotto that is finished off in the oven.
Hi african vanielje, thanks for the tip about carnaroli. I wll look for it. Hey, Lucy, hope your partner has improved his technique.
Thanks Gaurav, you are very kind.
This post has been so helpful! I’ve always had trouble making risotto, but this is going to help me improve a lot!
Hello, keepingnote, I hope it gives you some inspiration. The key to making risotto is some good music to cook dinner by on the stereo and a good glass of wine in your left hand, as you stir the risotto with your right. Or, more usual for me, you can always go into a meditative trance while stirring.
l’m like it
It is not easy at all to make a risotto! In fact, in most of Italian restaurants it is very hard to eat a nice one. You have to be Italian, and a good chef too – or an old-style housewife. Also, THE BASIS IS NOT AT ALL always the same; it depends on what you are cooking. It is very humble to say that to make a risotto you only need to stir for 20 minutes while adding brot. You may need oil or butter, onion and/or garlic, different herbs and seasonings, wine and/or cream…Try to do a Risotto alla Milanese with a basis of olive oil and garlic, for instance….THE BASIS IS NEVER THE SAME!!!!!AND IT DOES MATTER!Plus, as a French chef, I can tell you that risotto is not OF ITALIAN ORIGINS, IT IS JUST ITALIAN!
Thank you for your illuminating comments. I am so sorry to have upset you. It was unintentional. Note however that I clearly and repeatedly indicate that I am discussing a **basic** risotto for cooking at home. As you point out, there are many many different types of risotto, each with its own flavourings either added before or with the rice, or at the end, after the rice is cooked. Pls see my other risotto postings for some variations. Thanks again for voicing your opinion. I appreciate that. May your world be bright.
I am not going to be original this time, so all I am going to say that your blog rocks, sad that I don’t have such writing skills