Risotto recipe

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Risotto

Risotto is a very nice dish than can be use as a complete meal or a side dish. The preparation for risotto requires more simmering than boiling and one must be gentle in the cooking process.

olive oil (and/or butter)
1 chopped onion
4 ounces of rice per person if it is a main dish or 2 ounces per person if it is a side dish.
3 to 5 cups canned or homemade chicken broth
white wine
saffron
parmesan cheese
optional: chopped spinach
optional: chopped porcini mushrooms
optional: chopped asparagus
optional: other vegetables to your taste

In a frying pan, heat some little olive oil and/or butter. Olive oil is usually preferred for this Italian dish. Add the onions and fry until the onion has a nice golden appearance. Add the rice and make sure that the rice has a nice olive oil coat. Stir and gently fry the rice for a few minutes.

Slowly incorporate some chicken broth 1/3 cup at a time. The rice should stay wet but should never be completed covered by the broth. The rice will absorb the liquid and at that point you can repeat the process of adding more broth. Let the stove at low/simmer heat and do not stop stirring. It is fine that you can hear the steam while cooking but the rice should not stick. At some point you can start using some wine to incorporate instead of the chicken broth. You'll be the master of the broth/wine proportions you will like. Do the same as with the chicken broth, 1/3 cup at a time and simmer until the wine is absorbed. It is better not to use red wine otherwise the risotto will look rather pink.

When the rice looks pretty nicely cooked you can add the other ingredients: saffron, parmesan cheese, spinach, mushrooms etc. If you use asparagus, it may be a better idea to incorporate them a bit earlier in the process.

Practice will be somehow needed to get exactly the risotto you want.

Note: Contributed by Matthiew C.