To make the perfect risotto, you will need arborio rice, some chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, a sauce pan, a wooden spoon, salt, oil or butter, minced shallots, cheap white wine, and lots of patience. The reason for the wooden spoon is that it promotes agitation of the rice so it can both better absorb the stock and create the creamy sauce from it’s starch. Though I do not include exact measurements, you must keep in mind the ratio of liquid to rice is 2:1-plus. This means that though the rice will absorb twice it’s volume in liquid, arborio rice is fickle and may need a bit more to be al dente, or “to the tooth consistency.”
- Pre-heat your sauce pan over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Never start cooking in cold pans unless the recipe specifically says to do so.
- In your pre-heated sauce pan, add less than a quarter cup of oil or melt a small amount of butter. Add the minced shallots and “sweat” them until translucent. This will season the oil and add depth to the final dish.
- At this point you should add the arborio rice. Keep in mind how much rice you add and make sure you use a relatively exact measurement. For this example we will assume you used two cups. Stir the rice using your wooden spoon to coat it with the seasoned oil. This is called “nacre” in cooking terms.
- Raise the heat to it’s highest level and add about a cup or so of cheap white wine. It’s cheap because the results achieved are irrespective to the price of the wine. Stirring the shallots, rice and wine over medium high heat, reduce the mixture until it is almost dry. This is called “au sec” in french cooking. Just don’t let it burn or you will have to start over.
- Here comes the fun part. Reduce the heat to medium high and begin adding the stock of your choice to the pan.  You should start out with half of the stock first and keep stirring the rice and stock until it is mostly absorbed. Then add some more stock in small amounts and keep stirring with the wooden spoon until you have reached the 2:1 ratio. For this example, you will have added four cups of stock. You should notice that the starch in the rice has created a smooth and creamy, yet light sauce. Taste a small amount of the risotto and break the rice with your teeth to test it’s “tooth”. If it breaks with relative ease and you don’t get the impression that it is too hard, then this step is done. If not, you should add more stock and stir. Taste again and repeat as necessary. You may need up to 1/3 more stock in some cases.
- Quickly remove the pan from the heat to a cold burner or some other cool, nonburnable surface. Stir in some salt a bit at a time and keep tasting to ensure you don’t over do it. I suggest using kosher salt as it is milder than table salt and easier to manage when trying to not over salt things.
That’s it! You have successfully created a perfect risotto dish. It should be served pretty soon after completion, or covered with a warm damp cloth and placed in a warm oven under 150 degrees Fahrenheit. You should always hold hot food above 141 degrees to prevent food born illness. If you are interested in adding garnish or other flavors to this dish, add them in either with the shallots or at the end, depending on whether or not they should be cooked. For example; mushrooms or garlic should be sauteed with the shallots while parsley or diced tomatoes should just be stirred in at the end before the salt. Bon appetit!
