Risotto
A classic Italian rice dish, super creamy and savory. Risotto is also very customizable: it's essentially a blank canvas and there are so many ways to build incredible flavors on top of it, such as with mushrooms, shrimp, and asparagus. Shown above is risotto with shrimp. Risotto sounds difficult to make but it is actually relatively straightforward, so I would definitely recommend giving it a try at some point!
Active Time: 40 min
Total Time: 40 min
Ingredients
(Ingredients for the basic risotto)
> Arborio rice
> Onion, garlic
> Olive oil, chicken stock, white wine
> Parmigiano reggiano, truffle butter, creme fraiche
> Salt, pepper
Instructions
1. Prep: Finely dice some onion and chop some garlic. Heat up the chicken stock.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook onion for around 5 minutes or until slightly softened, occasionally stirring. Add garlic, and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add the arborio rice, and toast the rice for a minute or two.
4. Add a splash of white wine, and cook off all of the alcohol.
5. You are now ready to cook the rice. Add a few ladles of chicken stock (but not too much, we don't want to drown the rice). Make sure to constantly stir. Whenever the chicken stock is running low, add another ladle.
6. After about 15-20 minutes, your risotto should be cooked. Turn off the heat. Add pepper, parmigiano reggiano, creme fraiche, and truffle butter to taste.
7. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> It is important that you use arborio rice for this dish. Arborio rice has two main characteristics: 1) it absorbs a lot of liquid, which makes it super flavorful, and 2) it releases a lot of starch, which is crucial to achieving the creamy texture of risotto.
> Patience is key. Slowly adding the the chicken stock is very important - if you drown the rice with chicken stock it will not achieve the desired texture.
> Mix with a wooden spatula if possible. Using a metal spatula can break the rice grains.
> Typically, you'll need about a 4:1 ratio of stock to rice, or perhaps a little bit more.
> I like to use around a 1:1:1 ratio of parmigiano reggiano, creme fraiche, and butter, but feel free to adjust this to your liking.