Risotto is easy and quick to cook, it makes a great impression, is very filling, and also very versatile. It can be made with almost anything from asparagus to mushrooms, from sausage to cheese, from lobster to saffron, from peas to champagne, even with strawberries!
For me, it’s a lifesaver every time nothing else comes to mind or if I need to fix a quick dinner. While it’s cooking, I prepare a nice salad that we can eat after the risotto – as a light second course – and dinner is served.Even if the original recipe calls for beef stock, I admit to short-cutting this lengthy passage by simply adding one organic bouillon cube to the sauté onion and letting it melt before adding the rice. Then I keep adding boiling water to cook the rice.
The difficulty of cooking it is highly overrated: make the following basic recipe a couple of times, correct your mistakes and I guarantee an endless string of successes with family and friends, using the ingredients you like better.
Ingredients:
(for 4 people) A V B Gf
- 10 oz. of rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)
- 2 Tbsp. of butter
- 3 Tbsp. of EVOO
- 1 organic bouillon cube
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 3 Tbsp. of grated Parmesan cheese
Peel the onion and chop it finely. Grate the Parmesan cheese and set aside. Sauté the onion with the oil and half of the butter, on medium heat, until slightly golden. Raise the heat, add the bouillon cube and let it melt – always stirring – then add the rice and let it toast – always stirring – for a couple of minutes, until the grains look translucent. This passage is very important because the rice must absorb the fat so that it doesn’t absorb too much liquid while cooking and the grains remain separated. Lower the heat to medium-low, start adding the water, at first two ladles and then one ladle at a time, when the risotto starts to look too thick, stirring often.
It usually takes between 12 and 15 minutes for the rice to cook. Taste it after 10 minutes and, when if feels almost done, adjust for salt if needed, add half a ladle of water, stir, remove from stove and let it sit – covered – for a couple of minutes. Uncover, add the rest of the butter and the Parmesan cheese, stir and serve immediately as it tends to thicken very quickly.