If you’ve been wowed after eating a good risotto, it was probably because it was thick and creamy, flavorful yet delicate at the same time. Making it at home is simple, but it requires some steps that aren’t very convenient and may discourage those who don’t have much time. Still, a good risotto is not necessarily a difficult dish to prepare, especially if you follow our shortcuts. The crucial thing to start with is the broth: the traditional recipe calls for a home-made meat- or vegetable-based version, but if you haven’t already prepared it in advance, this phase could seriously draw out the cooking time. We’ve used a ready-made broth, but made sure to always keep it boiling! In the tutorial below, you’ll also discover the final step that makes the risotto so creamy and turns a regular dish into a first course that will blow you away.
Ingredients for 4 servings
1 qt. vegetable broth, 4 porcini mushrooms (already cleaned and chopped), 2 2/3 cups rice, 1/2 onion, 1/2 cup dry white wine, 1 tbsp. butter, 4 tbsp. grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley
How to cook risotto
Bring the broth to a boil and make sure it stays boiling over high heat. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a saucepan; sauté the finely chopped onion (you can also grate it) and once it’s nice and soft, add in the rice. Toast the rice for a minute, stirring with a spoon so it doesn’t burn, then add in the white wine. Once it has fully absorbed, add in two ladlefuls of the boiling broth: continue to add the broth a little at a time for as long as the rice is cooking. This process is very important and the only one that requires a bit of patience, but it’s crucial for the rice to cook perfectly. To do so correctly, always make sure that the broth doesn’t dry up completely or it will burn, but don’t cover the rice with excessive amounts of liquid or it will eventually lose the right consistency. In the meantime, heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan; sauté the mushrooms with salt and pepper for about 5 minutes. After the rice has been cooking for 12 minutes, add in the mushrooms and continue to cook for another 3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Finally add in the butter, combine well, add in the cheese, and blend everything to get a rich, creamy consistency. If you like, you can serve the risotto garnished with a sprinkling of chopped parsley. In any case, the important thing is to serve it immediately so that you can better appreciate the creaminess (as it rests, it tends to get sticky).