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Rice varieties
A high-starch (amylopectin), low-amylose japonica rice is used to make risotto. Such rices are stickier than other varieties. The principal varieties are the traditional arborio, carnaroli, and vialone nano, and the newer baldo[1]. Carnaroli and vialone nano are considered to be the best (and most expensive) varieties, with different users having different preferences. They have slightly different properties; for example carnaroli is less likely to get overcooked than vialone nano, but the latter may absorb condiments better. Rice designations of superfino, semifino and fino refer to the size and shape of the grains, not the quality.
Basic preparation
There are many different risotto recipes with different ingredients, but they are all based on rice of an appropriate variety cooked in a standard way.
The rice is first cooked briefly in butter or olive oil, then boiling water or stock, and sometimes a little white wine is added, one ladleful at a time, stirring almost constantly, tasting until it is ready (a total time of about 17 minutes after first adding liquid). It may be removed from the heat a few minutes earlier, and left to cook with its residual heat. Some ingredients, e.g. onion, may be sweated in oil before the rice is added; others are added when some liquid is present.
Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy but still al dente, with separate grains.
Stirring loosens the starch molecules from the outside of the rice grains into the surrounding liquid, creating a kind of sauce. The traditional texture is fairly fluid, or all'onda ("wavy").
Risotto is often finished by beating in a traditional mantecatura of lumps of cold butter and grated Parmesan cheese just before serving. The cheese is usually left out if the risotto is served with fish or other seafood.
In a restaurant risotto may be removed from the heat before it is fully cooked, and finished at the last moment, although the result is not considered to be quite as good.
Risotto may be made with other rice varieties, but will not have the creaminess of the traditional dish.
Variations
Common recipes include risotto alla Milanese, flavored with saffron, traditionally served with osso buco (braised veal shanks), and risotto al Barolo, made with red wine, but thousands of variations exist.
Risotto can include vegetables, meat, seafood, various wines, cheeses and even fruits. Black risotto al nero di seppia is a specialty of the Veneto region, made with cuttlefish that have been cooked with their ink-sacs intact. Risi e Bisi is a basic risotto with green peas. Other versions include tomato risotto, squash risotto, and mushroom risotto.
Away from Italy dishes made in a similar way to true risotto but with a different starch are sometimes called "risotto": "potato risotto", "barley risotto."
See also
References
- Barrett, Judith, and Wasserman, Norma (1987). Risotto. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-02-030395-5.
- Hazan, Marcella (1992). Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-58404-X.
External links
- Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 4 A podcast episode that talks about the classical technique and science behind making risotto.
