How to make a perfect risotto

How to make a perfect risotto .

Four cheeses, Parmesan, seafood, vegetables, with mushrooms … the possibilities of risotto are endless.

This dish, both Italian and universal, is a perfect ally at all times, for lunch or dinner, due to its (a priori) low difficulty and because it does not require many ingredients to prepare it.

What you do need, however, is patience, dexterity moving the wooden spoon and a lot of imagination …

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But let’s start from the beginning: what is risotto? Risotto is a creamy rice. eye! Creamy is not soupy . You are warned.

To prepare this delicacy azzurro you need rice, onion, garlic, meat stock or chicken and Parmesan cheese . These are the base ingredients of the risotto, but we also need butter and (this is where we greet our imagination) the ingredients that you want to star in your dish: seafood, fish, meat, vegetables … 

The risotto, which emerged in the 16th century in northern Italy, is a versatile dish and very open to improvisation.

Although, as we said, it does not have a high difficulty, the secret of risotto, which can turn a basic dish of creamy rice into a luxury dish worthy of the Michelin guide, is time. We should never rush it and we have to respect every step of the cooking process.

How to make the perfect risotto?

The first thing we must do before cooking is to choose the main ingredients of our risotto.

The base of our risotto

1. Once decided, we will leave them prepared, chopped and ready to add in due course. We reserve them and begin the preparation . Make the base sauce .
2. We need a wide base, medium height saucepan or pan. We cover the base of our container with virgin olive oil or butter . You can also combine oil and butter.
3. Depending on the type of flavor you want to add to the recipe, you must choose between sautéing onion or leek , which are more delicate and sweet, or garlic , which provides a more intense flavor.
4. Whatever you choose, it is important that you chop it very fine . If it inspires you, in Italy the most used ingredient is onion .
5. Add your ingredient to fry before the oil or butter is too hot to avoid burning. As in all good sofrito, it is essential to simmer until the onion (or garlic or leek) is transparent or begins to take on a golden hue but without burning, we do not want to spoil our recipe!

What are you going to make your risotto?

Add additional ingredients . They are the protagonists because they are going to give flavor to our dish . At the moment when the sofrito is ready, we add the additional ingredients and continue sautéing them .

1. It is essential to stir the ingredients often to avoid burning them. Here the taste of each one comes into play to achieve the appropriate or preferred texture.
2. In the event that we add vegetables, we can cook them in the saucepan with the sofrito, playing with the fire and the lid so that they are more or less cooked and golden; We can also steam them separately to get them al dente, more crisp, and then add to the sauce.
3. In this case, the broth obtained from the preparation can also be added to the main broth with which we will prepare the rice.
4. If instead of vegetables, we want to make a risotto with meat, we should cook it over medium-high heat so that it browns without releasing much water. If the star ingredient is fish or seafood, it is advisable to cook them separately and add them to the risotto at the end of the preparation. 

Risotto rice

1. Rice . Once the sofrito is ready and our additional ingredients are cooked, we add the rice to our saucepan and toast it and mix with all the foods that we have prepared so far.
2. The type of rice we use for our risotto is decisive. There are two varieties that are most suitable for this dish: arborio rice and carnaroli rice . At home we usually cook with Riso Scotti , totally trustworthy so that a delicious risotto comes out.
3. Its type of grain has a high starch content, it is short and hard to absorb the liquid and holds up well to the stirring. And here is one of the keys to this Italian recipe. Remember that cooking the rice must be very precise. So that the texture is tender but the inside of the grain is al dente , the cooking time is 15 to 18 minutes .

The broth to make the risotto. Taste and more flavor

A broth depending on the type of risotto you make. I fish broth , chicken broth , beef broth or vegetable broth are the most common.

1. It could be the first step to make our sofrito , because the main broth with which we are going to cook the rice must be prepared from the beginning. If the broth is homemade , the end result of your risotto will be much better.
2. Now, once the sauce is done, added our additional ingredients and the rice is toasted, we will gradually add the broth . Thus the rice grain absorbs all the flavor. And here comes the secret of a good risotto: stir constantly!
3. By removing the rice we make the grain release the starch. And after those 15 minutes of cooking (in which we will be adding the broth and stirring constantly), two minutes before finishing the preparation we incorporate the Parmesan cheese (while continuing to stir). The perfect texture ? We will get it by adding butter after removing our rice from the heat .
4. Rest and serve . Now it’s time to let our risotto rest for about 5 minutes .

If you have followed the steps and have respected their times you will have a rice with the perfect texture. Something in Italy they call all’onda , which is something like the wave shape that rice has when you stir it.

Who said you have to be Italian to prepare a perfect risotto?

If you put these tips into practice you will be able to conquer all the diners that you propose by the stomach.

And if what you need are ideas, look no further! Choose from all the rice recipes that you will find on the blog.

Our best risotto recipes

You can prepare this “ risotto with boletus edulis and prawns ” with simple ingredients

A delicious ” risotto a la Parmigiana ” or the classic ” risotto with artichokes and lamb ”

Or the amazing  sea ​​and mountain risotto . The healthiest on the blog, vegetable risotto or, like all the flavor of autumn, pumpkin and goat cheese risotto.

On our website we have recipes for making all kinds of risottos: I recommend starting with the classic saffron risotto or Milanese risotto .

If you fancy an autumn air with the smell of countryside and mushrooms, my first recommendation is the mushroom risotto , delicious and seasonal , perfect to succeed for its simplicity. And if you want to do it all year round, the mushroom risotto , which you will find in any supermarket on any date.

And finally, the innovative octopus risotto , to leave everyone speechless with a recipe that can be very Galician.