As someone who has made about 100 risottos in the past year, I will offer some disjointed tips rather than actual recipes:
* Add only HOT liquid to your risotto - you'll want the broth to absorb evenly and not have it cool down the action every time you add it.
* Add the liquid only about a ladle at a time. Yes, it's a tedious and long process. Get used to it.
* Keep stirring. No, seriously. KEEP STIRRING, ASSHOLE.
* Use a wooden spoon with a long handle. The wooden spoon won't damage the rice, and you can just leave it sit in the pot if you have to go to the fridge for some cheese or something (you know, briefly, while you KEEP STIRRING).
* A little tiny bit (1/4 cup at most, but usually just a tablespoon or two) of white wine brightens that mother right up subtly. Any more than that and it tastes like it has wine in it. You want that "hmmm.... this has a certain... something...) not "Oh nice, shitty chardonnay!"
* The dish will taste mostly like the liquid. To that end, don't use fuck*ng bullion or canned stock. Make your own stock, patzer.
* If you're making it with meat in the dish, cook the meat in the pot first, remove it, and then lightly toast the risotto afterwards to get some of that meaty flavour in there.
* Otherwise, onions are always the second item in the pot (after the butter). Sautee them until they're glassy and classy, and don't caramelize them unless you're using a dark stock.
* Personally I really like Basque recipes. They use a lot of seafood and milk/cream. Sometimes corn.
* Add a couple of pats of butter again right at the end of the cooking process. It gives the dish a smoother texture.
* You'll need to pop out a bit from time to time as it gets nearly done to tell if it's done or not. It's done when it's still a little tough on the teeth but NOT crunchy at all. It should be really firm, because it'll continue cooking for quite a while after you turn off the heat (even on the plate) and if it's "just right" in the pot it'll be "mushy as fuck" when served.
* The finished risotto should be thick and not runny, but should still *flow* when you stir it lightly.
* When making dishes using seafood (shrimp, scallops, etc.) that have more delicate flavours, replace the onions with sliced leeks to keep the flavour profile at around the same level.
* Go easy on the spices, Marco Polo. Use a little pepper, a little bit of kosher or sea salt, and ONE other spice, MAYBE. This is a broth and rice dish. Maybe there's some meat.
* Mushrooms are almost never a bad idea.
* Don't be afraid to experiment. I added peas and carrots to a creamy chicken risotto and it tasted like a pot pie risotto. It was awesome, if not apocryphal.
* The Williams-Sonoma Risotto book is available from Amazon for less than $10 (USD) and it an excellent quick reference for ideas.
* Press leftover risotto into patties and fry them the next day (or better yet - roll them into balls and deep-fry those suckers!) for a delicious leftover treat.
* When making leftover risotto, add some extra liquid to a pan and heat it before adding the risotto to the pan. Stir it quickly - you're just trying to bring it all up to heat, not cook it further.
* Fellas, chicks dig risotto. It is easy enough to make so you won't kill yourself, but elaborate and exotic enough that you'll seem like Mr. European Knowledgeable Sex Machine to your ladyfriend. If you want to be Captain Playa, pair the dish with a wine that comes from the same region as the recipe.
* Standard wine pairing rules apply - white for seafood and poultry, red for beef and veal. Pork could go either way - but when in doubt white tends to pair better than read for some reason. Maybe it's the creaminess of the rice itself. Don't go too sweet.
* Risotto is not a chore, it's a labour of love. It usually takes me about an hour to make one, from "What the hell am I going to make this chick for dinner?" to "Bon appetite, and while I don't want you to get drunk, that's a very fine Pinot you're not drinking."
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Topic: Best Risotto Recipe Ever? (Read 3661 times)