32 foolproof risotto recipes that anyone can make (2024)

FAQs

32 foolproof risotto recipes that anyone can make? ›

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels.

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels.

Always use warm stock.

Warming the broth before adding it to the warm rice coaxes more starch out of each grain of rice and helps prevent it from overcooking. Cool broth takes longer to warm up in the risotto pan and may shock the grain into holding onto its starches while the rice itself continues to cook.

One of the most famous risotto dishes is no doubt risotto alla Milanese. The first recipe mentioning the dish appears in cookbooks starting in the 1800s.

The technique of risotto is to slowly and gradually cook a starchy ingredient by adding liquid in small amounts and stirring. This technique's main purpose is to draw starch out of the main ingredient to give the dish a creamy texture.

If you are able to get white wine vinegar then you can add a tablespoon of this to the rice and let it boil away before adding any stock and this will often give some of the flavour of wine, whilst reducing the alcohol content.

The key, instead, is to undercook the risotto and cool it rapidly to prevent that rice from overcooking, so you can easily finish cooking it later.

Many people mistakenly think that butter, and lots of it, is required as the finish, to make risotto creamy. Olive oil at the end adds a nice complexity that does not alter the essential flavor of the risotto: it is, in my opinion, a cleaner finish.

Risotto can be flavored in many ways, with ingredients like Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and truffles commonly used to add depth and complexity to the dish. Because of the mild flavor, it can even be customized to be a dessert with ingredients like chocolate, bananas, or caramel.

How do Italians serve risotto? ›

Risotto in Italy is often a first course (primo), served before a second course (secondo), but risotto alla milanese is often served with ossobuco alla milanese as a one-course meal.

Never wash your rice beforehand as this removes the starch, which is what helps give risotto its smooth texture. Cook your risotto on a low, simmering heat and add the stock gradually, one ladle at a time. This gives the rice time to fully absorb the liquid and flavours. Rushing your risotto will only ruin its texture.

"Boil salted water, throw in the rice, boil it for nine minutes, strain it and throw it on a sheet pan. It's 90% cooked, so all you're doing is just picking it up. Once it's blanched, I can make risotto, from beginning to end, in three minutes."

But what are the most popular risottos in Italy? The most famous is the Risotto alla Milanese, with butter and saffron, onion and, if desired, beef bone marrow.

Often called the "king of Italian rice," carnaroli from Riso Buono is the risotto variety of choice for cooks in the know. With a higher starch content and firmer texture than the arborio you may see at the grocery store, this rice makes an ultra-creamy, restaurant-quality risotto that's almost impossible to overcook.

Chives, mint, lemon zest and pecorino add extra bursts of flavour, too.

It comes from the Spanish word for butter and means to gently work something—usually a dish—into a creamy consistency by blending in some sort of fat or butter. With risotto, at the very end, melt some butter in a spoon of hot stock (or wine) and work it into the rice to form a creamy texture.

Risotto is made with Arborio rice, butter, finely diced onion, white wine, chicken stock and Parmesan cheese, salted to taste.