MAKING A RISOTTO IS EASY

Yes, making risotto is really very easy!

Didn’t you know that? Really 😉 I’m the specialist of recipes that must be good, original and easy to make at the same time. And I also make sure that in terms of calories, they remain dietetic.

So when I tell you that it’s really easy, you can believe me, because it’s my cooking philosophy, but above all, I’ll prove it immediately by giving you the recipe.

Origin

The term “risotto” comes from risottiera which is the name of the round or oval dish in which the rice was served. Risottiera is also a pan with very high edges in order to cook the rice.
The risotto is in fact originally a typical Italian recipe.
A maid from a Sicilian family, in order to prove her culinary skills, had to make arancini, but… Not being able to give them their characteristic shape, she gave birth to the risotto.

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-Which rice to use to make a good risotto

The risotto is prepared with round, absorbent rice that does not dry out during cooking.
To make a good, creamy risotto, you need rice with a high starch content and not parboiled. Arborio rice is particularly suitable for this, but other varieties of rice are also suitable, such as Baldo, Roma, Carnaroli and Vialone nano rice.

I use as well Arborio rice to prepare rice pudding or arancini, the Sicilian rice croquettes.
It is the antipode of Thai or parboiled rice.
Personally, I always use Arborio rice. You can find it with cuttlefish ink: it will then be all black. Visually the effect can be beautiful, and taste as tasty as rice without squid ink.

The recipe:

To make a good risotto, you need stock, onions, white wine and parmesan, all of which is browned in olive oil and then seasoned with butter for a creamy result.

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Ingredients:

-250 grams of arborio rice
-3 tbs olive oil
-1 onion or 2 shallots -1 small glass of white wine preferably, or lemon
-Parmesan

Broth either vegetable, chicken … or stock cubes.
You could create lot of recipes with the risotty, even an infinite variety of ways by adding vegetables, fish or meat. Rich with a surprising story.

Realisation:

-Fry the finely chopped onion in oil for 5 minutes. The onion should become translucent.

-Now, you add the rice, and stir for 2 minutes until the rice becomes translucent.

-Pour the white wine or 1/2 lemon juice. The mixture should make “psssssshhhht” .

-Add 1 litre of lukewarm broth ( or 1 litre of water with 3 bouillon cubes.

You need to cook the risotto in small bouillon: this means that it should not be boiling, it should just make small balls.
The rice will absorb all the liquid.
You have to stir until the broth complete absorption of the broth and then add a new ladle of vegetable broth if the rice has drunk it all.
Personally, with the habit of digging out, I don’t take care of the cooking of the risotto, I just cook it and I come back to see halfway through the cooking to see where the absorption is. If ever there is almost no broth left, add some more, otherwise, let the cooking continue.
You must remember to set the timer for 18 minutes.

Add the vegetables you want.
In this recipe, I put tomatoes and asparagus at the end of the cooking (the vegetables were already ready) If they are not cooked, you can fry them after putting the onion in your pan.
When the 18 minutes are over, stop the cooking and cover the preparation for 5 min, then add some fresh cream and mix with the parmesan and let the rice rest for another 5 min before serving.
And voilà, you have made a delicious risotto in no time at all.

Recipe ideas for risotto :

-Pears and parma ham
-Mushrooms
-Chorizo and Parmesan
-Foie gras and hazelnut to add the last 5 minutes before serving (this is a recipe I made at Christmas last year and was very successful).
Rice goes with everything. It’s a neutral base. So you can go with your risotto with whatever you want, whatever you like.
Be inventive, create your own risotto recipe.
Your own touch!