The Best EVER Risotto Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good risotto? ›

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.

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels.

Sautéed shallots, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, and thyme are used to build a robust and flavorful foundation on which arborio rice and hot stock are melded. With each stir of the spoon, the starches thicken, and the earthy essence of the mushrooms builds depth of flavor.

I prefer the flavor of chicken broth or stock in risotto. If you're vegetarian, vegetable broth or stock will be just fine. I use regular broth for this recipe and not low-sodium, if you use low sodium just be sure to taste test and add more salt at the end as needed. Parmesan cheese.

In his post, López-Alt writes that the speediness of restaurant risotto boils down to the fact that chefs “par-cook it to around 75 per cent done then cool it rapidly by spreading it in a thin layer on a sheet tray and refrigerating it”.

The concept of mantecare, (the verb form of mantecatura) is an Italian cooking essential, one that's crucial to risotto. 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.

Due to the starches in risotto and paella, washing the rice would ruin the dish as starch is a big component of its success. "If you are cooking risotto or paella, you should not wash the rice because the washed rice draws out more starch and coats the surface of the rice's surface," says Chef Hamaya.

Using beef broth for the risotto was a new twist for us (we always use chicken broth and white wine), but it gives the creamy risotto this amazingly rich, earthy heft. And the white balsamic vinegar adds an invigorating pungency-- almost a mildly sour note, but in a really good way -- to the dish.

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.

Should you stir risotto as it cooks? ›

When cooking risotto on a stovetop, you're required to periodically stir it to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Some people, however, stir it too frequently. This adds air into the risotto, cooling it down and making it gluey.

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.

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.

According to Salvatore, it all depends on the ingredients. The chef prefers oil over butter (and oil works particularly well with seafood risottos), but butter is better for vegetable-based dishes like Rampoldi's black truffle with mushroom or mixed vegetable and ginger risotto.

First off, it should be saucy in texture. A perfect plate of risotto should flow like lava if you tilt the plate. Spoon it onto a hot dish (and you must use a hot dish), and it should slowly spread out until it forms a perfectly level disk.

The most important thing when preparing risotto is choosing the right rice, since long or sushi grains won't work. One chef favorite: carnaroli rice. Many recipes call for arborio, but longer-grained carnaroli is key to that sought-after creaminess (plus it's harder to overcook).