Risotto

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, kept at a gentle simmer
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 3 tbsp butter, divided
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, finely grated
• Salt and pepper

Boiling & Steaming

Boiled Broccoli Boiled Asparagus Glazed Carrots Boiled Potatoes with Parsley Butter Pommes Purée Perfect Steamed White Rice Japanese Steamed Rice Rice Pilaf

Cooking with Water and Vapor→

Method

Like most savory cooking, risotto starts with an aromatic base — the Italian cousin of mirepoix, called a soffritto. Here it should vanish into the background, so keep it minimal: I use shallots alone rather than a full onion-carrot-celery mix, since they melt down softer and sweeter and give the rice a cleaner base. Once you can make the plain version, you can take it anywhere — stir a pinch of saffron into the stock for the classic Risotto alla Milanese, or fold in mushrooms, peas, or seafood near the end.

Build the soffritto and toast the rice

Keep the stock at a bare simmer in a separate pot the whole time — adding cold stock would shock the rice and stall the cooking. In a wide, heavy pan, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat, add the shallots, and sweat gently until soft and translucent but not browned, 4–5 minutes; this is your soffritto, so keep it pale so it disappears into the finished dish. Add the rice and toast, stirring, for 1–2 minutes, until the grains are glossy and the edges turn slightly translucent — do not rinse the rice first, that surface starch is what makes risotto creamy.

Add the liquid gradually

Pour in the wine and stir until it is almost fully absorbed. Add the hot stock one ladle at a time, stirring often and waiting until each addition is nearly absorbed before adding the next, and keep going, ladle by ladle, for 18–20 minutes. Start tasting near the end: the rice is done when it's creamy and loose but each grain still has a slight bite at the center, and you may not need all the stock.

Finish with butter and cheese

Off the heat, beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter and the Parmesan — this final enrichment is the mantecatura, and it gives the risotto its gloss and body. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once, before it stiffens.