The perfect risotto exists. The right creaminess, the characteristic flavour, and the perfect consistency of the grains compete to make your risotto envied by everyone. But what are the tricks to cook risotto to lick your lips?
Procedimento
The perfect risotto exists. The right creaminess, the characteristic flavour, and the perfect consistency of the grains compete to make your risotto envied by everyone.
But what are the tricks to cook risotto to lick your lips?
The choice of the rice
There is little to do: the choice of the primary ingredient certainly makes the difference. Since the creaminess of risotto depends on the starch, it is essential to choose a kind of rice that contains and releases the right amount of it and that is characterized by an excellent cooking resistance. Then, pay attention to the variety you are using; the most suitable for risotto are Carnaroli, Roma, Sant’Andrea, Vialone nano, and Arborio.
The pot you use, the result you get
The choice of the pot to use is important. Indeed, the ideal would be to use a copper pan, but also steel or aluminum will be fine.
The pot should be wide and high enough, to be able to spread the rice grains and submerge them with the broth during cooking.
Sauté: the debate
At the beginning of the preparation of risotto, there is a fundamental question: to do or not to do the sauté? Opinions here are divided, and the issue becomes debated.
In fact, there are those who, like the well-known chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo, toasts dry rice. Others, in the meanwhile, start from sautéed chopped onion or from butter on which the rice is left to toast before adding the broth.
The toasting process is very important for the perfect success of your risotto: in fact, by carefully heating the beans, they will be sealed and will later release the right amount of starch.
Whether you are of one school of thought or the other, it is important to cook everything over low heat and check that the grain does not burn and becomes perfectly translucent!
It’s broth time!
Here we are at the time of cooking the rice: now the role of broth is essential. The cooking of risotto, indeed, consists of the progressive addition of liquid as it is absorbed by the grain or evaporates. But we are not talking about a random liquid, not at all!
Usually, there are two main mistakes that lead to mediocre cooking of risotto: using water instead of broth, or adding cold broth. In the first case, the taste of the risotto will suffer a lot, while in the second the cooking will not be effective since the low temperatures will continuously block the cooking. So, in a nutshell, a quality and boiling broth is necessary!
The final sprint: the creaming
Creaming is an art and, if done correctly, it will give your risotto the finishing touch. The secret to keep in mind in this step is to use a fatty element, be it butter or oil, which must be very cold, since the thermal shock will make the risotto shiny and creamy. Therefore, move the pan away from the heat, then add butter and grated Parmesan cheese to the rice. Cover the pot and let the rice rest for a few minutes. And your dish will be ready to taste.
These are few and simple aspects to keep in mind to get perfect risotto, creamy and cooked to the right point, to combine with your favorite ingredients. Follow them all and cook your perfect risotto!
