Growing up, I never heard of risotto or rice dishes. We ate macaroni & pasta.
I learned to prepare risotto at the CIA when I became an instructor & have been a huge fan ever since.
Risotto
My two favorite ways to prepare risotto are with chicken broth & saffron or mushrooms & truffles. I always prepare extra so I can make risotto cakes the following day.
Risotto is actually the style of preparation, like steamed rice or rice pilaf. Arborio or Carnaroli are my prefered short grain rices when preparing risotto. Nowadays there are many different types of risotto preparations. Chefs use grains such as barley & farrow and even cauliflower to create risotto style dishes. Risotto has very few ingredients so each should be of the highest quality. I prepare a delicious chicken broth and then infuse it with mushrooms or saffron etc.. depending on what I'm making.
Prep Time: 2o min
Cooking Time: 18 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
2 oz. Olive oil
1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
4 Tbsp Spanish Onion, minced
1 Cup. Arborio Rice
2 Tbsp White Wine dry, optional
t.t. Kosher Salt & Crushed Black pepper
3 Cups Chicken Broth
t.t. Truffle Salt, (optional)
t.t. Romano cheese, grated (optional)
How to Prepare Risotto
Step 1
Heat olive oil in a sautée pan, when hot add the garlic and onions, lightly cook until translucent;. do not brown... add the rice and toast it (parch it) to gelatinize the starches and add a little flavor. This will take about 4 minutes, season with salt and pepper and add the white wine.
Step 2
Add the hot chicken broth in 3 stages, stirring with a wooden spoon until all of the broth has been absorbed by the rice. When the broth is all used, turn off the risotto and let it sit for a few minutes. Check for texture and seasoning. The rice should have a slight bite and flow 'like a wave'or risotto all'onda in Italian, but hold shape slightly.
Step 3
Sauté the garnish (example: an assortment of mushrooms in hot olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper.)
Spoon the risotto into a bowl and top with the garnish.
Note: you can add cheese or garnish like cooked mushrooms, asparagus etc... and serve
