Risotto

[mnoble485]

So my wife has found a sudden love for risotto. I've never fixed risotto but do enjoy eating it. I know you guys have all the secrets to a successful dish, so dish.

Thanks, as always,

Mike

[robin3mj]

Use homemade stock. Take your time.

We use Jamie Oliver's recipe as a base. Fry the onions in oil, then the rice until slightly translucent. Add vermouth and cook off the alcohol, then start adding stock, slowly one ladle at a time. Take your time! Only put in more liquid when the prior ladle is mostly absorbed.
Add in your "toppings" depending on how long they take to cook. At the end, put a slug of butter and/or parm on top, remove from heat, and cover for a few mins.

Peas and shrimp and mint is nice. Anything is nice, really. Risotto is a great dish to know how to make.

[jdp211]

I feel like every time I recommend a recipe it comes from Serious Eats, but for real they're so good that it's hard not to. With that in mind, their approach to risotto is a little different than the 'traditional' methods, but the results speak for themselves.

The Food Lab: The Road To Better Risotto | Serious Eats

[htwoopup]

Use a pan with high sides...almost wok like. A little asiago cheese sprinkled in and stirred at the finish is good on hearty veggie types of additives. Seafood like shrimp, scallops, lobster and use a fish or chicken stock are great (don't cheese that). I think it was implied before but just to be sure...keep your stock on heat on another burner below boiling and ladle it in from there. No more than 4 Ozs of stock ladled in at a time.

Oh, and stir but not constantly. Slow. As said before just a little stir when stock absorbed. Take your time. That way you get that nice starchy sort of paste (I know that is the wrong word) to it.

[alexstar]

Make it in the Thermomix!

[hampco]

Make it in the Thermomix!

Yum - hot wet rice! Actually, I made risotto last night with sausage/chard/broccoli/leek ramps and finished it with butter/parm/goat cheese - quite tasty.

Just make it, don't get too hung up on technique as it's pretty hard to wreck. Stir often, not too much liquid at once.

[j44ke]

Takes longer than you expect and uses more water than you think it should, but don't add too much water too quickly and if you are adding parmigiano or similar, don't add salt until you have a chance to taste it completed. Think more like slow cooked pasta than steaming rice. We like our large iron Le Creuset skillet, because we can move things in and out of the heat and see the water level better. Also it doesn't move around on the stove because it is heavy. Use a wooden spoon.

Right now we are just entering into the season for fresh asparagus and mushroom risotto. Also risotto doesn't have to be heavy. Here is a fine (and easy) recipe for pea & mint risotto.

pea risotto - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

[htwoopup]

Right now we are just entering into the season for fresh asparagus and mushroom risotto.

OMG, Jorn I forgot about this one....such a great combination!

[Octave]

I feel like every time I recommend a recipe it comes from Serious Eats, but for real they're so good that it's hard not to. With that in mind, their approach to risotto is a little different than the 'traditional' methods, but the results speak for themselves.

The Food Lab: The Road To Better Risotto | Serious Eats

Yep, this non-traditional approach is the tops. Using the starchy water from rinsing the rice is genius. Sometimes (rarely, but sometimes and often with "The Food Lab") new techniques can actually improve a recipe over the old standards - this is one of those rare cases.

[guido]

My favorite variation includes fiddleheads and pancetta. yum!

[j44ke]

Fiddleheads stir-fried in olive oil and lemon makes a good side for the risotto w/peas & mint.

[guido]

My SO has been foraging wine cap stropharia which would go great in the risotto too...

[ericpmoss]

Since this is VS, I recommend going over the top on ingredients, at least once in a while. Use a mix of Gliaironi and Acquerello aged carnaroli rice, sauteing the onions and rice in I Fumei olive oil. It's kind of a waste to heat top-notch oil, but what the heck. Finish it with (a little) Delitia Italian Bufala milk butter and a room-temp egg stirred in quickly to add richness and mouthfeel -- finishing with all butter can end up being greasy.

I Fumei, Delitia and Gliaironi can be found at Mario Batali's Eataly.
Acquerello can be found at mikuniwildharvest.com
Eggs can be found under a hen.

[guido]

Fiddleheads and Shrimp with saffron. Arborio rice, home grown onion, a nice california olive oil. A bit of Reggiano Parm. to finish. Low class but tasty...

[ericpmoss]

Fiddleheads and Shrimp with saffron. Arborio rice, home grown onion, a nice california olive oil. A bit of Reggiano Parm. to finish. Low class but tasty...

Nothing low class about that. It sounds great! Fancy ingredients are nice, but I've blown a lot of fancy ingredients learning that skill is way more important.

[Tom]

Tried that quick method for my first try at risotto this weekend. Two bunches of ramp leeks - white parts chopped up and cooked in the butter and oil, rice toasted to death in that mix, top parts of the ramps blanched and beaten to a pulp in my blender and stirred in at the end. A little parmesan at the end but no more greases. It was pretty tasty. It probably wouldn't qualify as risotto but it was good.

[oldmuthariley]

does Baum make a Risotto model?

[mnoble485]

image-3685508303.jpg

My first attempt at risotto. Also my first attempt at chicken piccata. A few lessons learned. I started with a recipe that I should have cut in half in a pan too small. The risotto was a little more than al dente. Used a saffron recipe and flavor was good just not the right texture when complete. The piccata was tender but my thought process was if a little lemon was good more would be better. Turns out not true.

I will definitely try again.

Mike

[znfdl]

image-3685508303.jpg The piccata was tender but my thought process was if a little lemon was good more would be better. Turns out not true.

Piccata is tricky, as it depends upon the individual lemon's taste. You should taste the raw lemon juice to determine the taste pungency, bitterness, sweetness etc. I also like to use some rind, as the rind gives a different flavor dimension. My favorite is Mahi-Mahi Piccata.

[mzilliox]

i love risotti. I use things like Farro as well as arboriro for variety. the key is in the stock and patience. roasted veggies, mushrooms, seafood, so many ideas to try.

keep at it, and have fun