Risotto
I could just give you a recipe for a risotto, but there's really more to
it.
Risotto isn't so much a specific dish as it is a preparation --
a class of food, if you will. In addition to ingredients and procedure,
there is technique, philosophy, and more. I promise you recipes, and I
ask your indulgence while I ramble on for a bit . . .
A Reference
First, let me recommend an excellent book: Risotto, by
Judith Barrett and Norma Wasserman (Macmillan, New York, NY,
ISBN l0-02-0303095-5) -- it's well worth the price.
Technique
All risottos start pretty much the same way: Butter and oil are
melted; in this, some onion is sauteed, and rice is added. When
the rice has absorbed all the butter and oil, hot stock is added
to the mixture, about half a cup at a time, until the all stock
has been added and the rice is cooked. Finally, other
ingredients (the condimenti, as Barret and Wasserman
would have it), are added.
There are, however, a few tricks:
Timing
This is probably the trickiest aspect of making risotto.
It should take approximately 18 minutes to cook the rice, and a
portion of stock is added about every minute and a half. What's
important is that the stock be absorbed into the rice, and not allowed
to evaporate. You can tell when the stock is gone by watching the
mixture as you stir; adjust your flame accordingly. With practice, this
will get easier.
The Stock
The stock has to be hot before you add it to the rice. To do this, get
the stock simmering before heating the butter and oil; however,
this will cause some of the stock to boil off. I suggest you work with
one (or even two) extra cups of stock; also, keep a tea kettle full of
water simmering, just in case you run out of stock.
You may find that you need more or less stock than is called for in the
recipe; this is probably due to any number of factors including how old
your rice is. This is fine: After you've made this a few times, you'll
have a feel for when you're about to reach the rice's saturation point;
just stop adding stock when you get there.
The Condimenti
The condimenti should be added to the risotto with the last portion of
stock. Vegetables that cook quickly (pretty much anything frozen) don't
need to be cooked first.
Ingredients
[This section is still under construction]
A few tips about ingredients:
Rice
[Arborio; don't wash; 1c = 7oz]
Butter and Oil
Most of the recipes call for both butter and oil. While you could use
one or the other, I think the combination tastes best. For the oil, use
olive oil. For the butter, unsalted is probably best, since most stock
(even if you make it yourself) has plenty of salt in it.
Stock
[low salt; bad canned veg; prefer white to brown]
Cheese
Most risotto recipes call for cheese; since I can't eat it, mine don't.
If you like, you can to add about 1/2 cup of freshly grated
parmesan to nearly any of these recipes; stir it in as you add the last
portion of stock.
A Short Sermon
In an effort to reduce the fat content of risotto, you might be tempted
to cut back on the amount of stock and substitute water instead. Well,
don't. Just don't. You won't get nearly as creamy a dish, and there are
better ways to manage this (which I'll get to in just a moment). You can
also skip the butter and use correspondingly more olive oil; if you use
margerine, well, I have nothing more to say to you.
Risotto is a simple dish with a good peasant heritage. I consider it to
be a perfect example of what Father Capon calls ferial cooking: It
tastes good, it's filling, and the ingredients are inexpensive (at the
cost more labor being required). It's not meant to be a “low cal”
meal -- people working in the fields from sunrise to sunset don't
need to watch their calories. Rather than use water in place of some of
the stock, try the following:
- Use a no-fat vegetable or fish stock instead of meat or
chicken stock.
- Fast. That's right -- don't eat. (See The Supper of
the Lamb, by Robert Farrar Capon, for a good explanation
of why this is better than dieting.)
[Powell's Books
usually has this book in stock, even though it's out of print.]
Quantities
Barret and Wasserman give a basic recipe for two people
of 1 1/2 cups of rice, 5 1/2 cups of stock, plus the
condimenti. That gives my wife and I two servings each plus a
little extra for
Risotto al Salto.
The table that follows is adapted from Barret and Wasserman.
Rice
(Cups) |
Stock
(Cups) |
Butter
(Tblsp) |
Oil
(Tblsp) |
Onion
(Cup) |
Pot Size
(Qt) |
Add Stock
(Cup) |
| 3/4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1/4 |
1 1/2 to 2 |
1/4 |
|
1 1/2
|
5 1/2
|
2
|
1
|
1/3
|
3 1/2 to 4
|
1/2
|
| 2 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
1/2 |
3 1/2 to 4 |
1/2 |
| 2 1/2 |
8 3/4 |
3 |
2 |
3/4 |
5 |
1/2 to 2/3 |
| 3 |
10 1/2 |
3 |
3 |
3/4 |
6 to 8 |
2/3 to 3/4 |
Keep in mind that these are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. The
amount of stock is going to vary with how old the rice is, how wet or
dry the rice is, how much fat is in the stock, and probably other things
as well. After you make it a few (or a few dozen) times, you'll get a
feel for how much you'll need of each ingredient.
Here (finally) are the recipes, both for the basic risotto and the
condimenti.