Though rooted in northern Italy, risotto is prepared in myriad ways using myriad ingredients all around the country, from risotto alla Milanese with saffron to risotto allo scoglio with shellfish and seafood.
While it's not the most challenging dish in the canon of Italian cuisine, risotto is easy to botch. So here's the basic recipe along with some tips to keep in mind while cooking.
Basic risotto recipe
Carnaroli is the ideal rice variety, otherwise vialone nano or arborio – but go for carnaroli if you can.
Sauté a finely chopped onion in oil and a little butter. The onion pieces should be smaller than the rice grains. Let the onion soften slowly over low heat, without burning. If necessary, add a little hot stock.
Add the rice (around 80 grams or 3 oz. per person) and toast it for a few minutes together with the onion.
At this point, add something alcoholic, like white wine. Allow the alcohol to evaporate and then continue cooking, diluting everything with hot stock by adding a ladle at a time until the rice is cooked and has absorbed all the liquid. Remove from the heat, add a pat of butter and work everything into a creamy texture. Serve with grated Parmigiano if you like.
You can add whatever you want to this basic classic risotto, and use any type of stock or alcoholic beverage you prefer.
10 mistakes to avoid
1. Reheating
Risotto needs to be prepared fresh and served immediately – never reheat it. You can prepare leftover risotto either al salto or in a frittata.
2. Using the wrong rice
Don't underestimate the quality of the basic ingredient – carnaroli, arborio, and vialone nano are the ideal rice varieties.
3. Rinsing the rice
Never rinse the rice because this changes its texture and depletes it of many nutrients.
4. Forgetting to toast it
Toasting the rice is very important. Have no fear, it won’t burn.
5. Skipping the alcohol.
Always add alcohol, whether it’s wine, liqueur, or whatever best suits your recipe. It helps de-grease the rice grains after toasting,
6. Using cold stock.
Use homemade stock, if you can, and remember to always add it while it’s extremely hot.
7. Easy on the mixing
Do not stir the risotto too much because the grains lose starch and stick together.
8. Mixing soft and crunchy grains
Do not scrape the bottom of the pan if some rice has stuck to it. Use only the soft grains.
9. Getting the mantecatura wrong
The concept of mantecare, (the verb form of mantecatura) is an Italian cooking essential, one that's crucial to risotto. It comes from the Spanish word for butter and means to gently work something—usually a dish—into a creamy consistency by blending in some sort of fat or butter. With risotto, at the very end, melt some butter in a spoon of hot stock (or wine) and work it into the rice to form a creamy texture. Do it gently and away from the heat by simply moving the pan. Avoid stirring it directly over the flame.
10. Serving it in the pan.
Serve risotto on a cold plate to halt the cooking of the grains.