Risotto is one of my favorite side dishes to make and eat. It is something that gives me a little bit of a challenge. There are so many things that can go wrong if you don’t pay attention: It can separate, not cook, not be creamy, not absorb the liquid. But if you are focused and not distracted by other items on the stove you will be able to make this deliciously creamy dish and be a superstar. I once taught this to a group of people who had never made risotto, or rice for that matter, and by the end of the class they were all experts. Some went home and made it ending up with great results. Sometimes a challenge is good when you want to get out of the boring hum drum of making the same old stuff.
Serves 4
2 Tablespoons XVOO
¼ Cup Shallots, Finely Diced
1 Cup Arborio Rice or Carnaroli Rice (Carnaroli is Best)
4 Cups Homemade Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Chicken Broth, Heated, Plus 1 Cup Extra If Needed to Finish
1 Teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1/3 Cup Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Heat a 2 quart heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Heat XVOO to just shimmering and sauté shallots with salt and pepper until the shallots are translucent, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.
Add rice and stir well to be sure each grain of rice is coated with the XVOO. Lower heat to medium low and stir in one cup of stock. Stir continuously until the entire cup of stock is incorporated. Add 1/3 cup more stock and stir continuously until all of that stock is incorporated. Do this with all of the rest of the 4 cups of stock in 1/3 cup additions, always stirring, for approximately 20 minutes. You want the mixture to be creamy, not broken, and the grains of rice should be tender and not crunchy. When the rice is perfectly perfect, add the butter and cheese and stir until completely incorporated. If the Risotto is too thick and not creamy, add some of the extra hot stock to loosen it up. It must be creamy to be perfect.
Hints and Tips: Risotto is a rice dish made with a particular kind of rice – either Arborio or Carnaroli. You need a high starch variety of rice in order to cook a real risotto. The main difference comes from the rice variety, but the way you cook risotto is also a bit different from how you cook other kinds of rice dishes. You don’t want the rice to separate from the stock. The best way to keep this from happening is to cook slowly and to be sure each addition of stock is fully absorbed by the rice before you put in the next addition. Also, at the very end of cooking vigorously stir and shake the risotto. The continuous stirring is what makes the risotto creamy. Stirring separates the starch from the rice and incorporates it into the chicken stock.
Suggestions to enhance your risotto:
1.) Add a heavy pinch of saffron to the sauté. The saffron makes it the famous Risotto Milanese. Not only does it give the risotto a wonderful flavor but also gives it a deeply rich intense color. Saffron is usually sold in packages weighing in at 0.028 oz. A pack of saffron this size is perfect for one cup of uncooked rice. You can almost always purchase the real deal saffron at the grocery store. Look for it among the spices. It is expensive and sometimes it is under lock and key. Ask your grocer.
2.) When you add the butter and cheese at the end, add freshly cooked spring peas for even more flavor and color.
3.) Sauté chopped pancetta with the shallots.
4.) Add reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms at the sauté. Replace part of the chicken stock with reconstituted mushroom liquid.
5.) Sauté shrimp and remove from the pan before you sauté the shallots. This will give you a little shrimp flavor. You can also make a shrimp stock from the shrimp shells and use this as your broth.
6.) Substitute 1 cup white wine for the first one cup of chicken stock and use 3 cups of stock instead of the 4 cups.
7.) There is an endless list of possibilities to add to your risotto.