Three tips to improve your risotto
Like most things in life, when it comes to making a good risotto, practice makes perfect. But even if you’ve got the right ingredients and know the basic recipe, there are a few things you can do to make your risotto even more delicious.
3. Choose the right rice
Hopefully your store has a wide range of rice options, enabling you to be a little fussy about the variety you choose. If you can, go for arborio, carnaroli or vialone. (You may even find varieties labeled ‘risotto rice’ making things even easier.) The reason these work so well is their high starch content, which give risotto its famous creamy texture.
2. Time your mixing
The thing that makes risotto tricky to make is timing. But get it right, and your home-cooked risotto will surpass most you’ll find at restaurants, who don’t always have the luxury of time. The two key stages are the caramelizing of the rice in a dry pan, and the adding of broth. Get either wrong and your rice will burn, or be too soggy. The secret is to add broth, a little at a time, once the rice starts sticking to the pan. And stir. Don’t stop stirring the whole time it’s cooking.
1. Add a creamy final touch
If you’ve picked a good rice, your risotto will already be pretty creamy, but you can make it even more flavorsome by adding ingredients like butter or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Just pop them in when the rice is al dente, put a lid on the pot and let it all melt together for a few minutes
3. Choose the right rice
Hopefully your store has a wide range of rice options, enabling you to be a little fussy about the variety you choose. If you can, go for arborio, carnaroli or vialone. (You may even find varieties labeled ‘risotto rice’ making things even easier.) The reason these work so well is their high starch content, which give risotto its famous creamy texture.
2. Time your mixing
The thing that makes risotto tricky to make is timing. But get it right, and your home-cooked risotto will surpass most you’ll find at restaurants, who don’t always have the luxury of time. The two key stages are the caramelizing of the rice in a dry pan, and the adding of broth. Get either wrong and your rice will burn, or be too soggy. The secret is to add broth, a little at a time, once the rice starts sticking to the pan. And stir. Don’t stop stirring the whole time it’s cooking.
1. Add a creamy final touch
If you’ve picked a good rice, your risotto will already be pretty creamy, but you can make it even more flavorsome by adding ingredients like butter or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Just pop them in when the rice is al dente, put a lid on the pot and let it all melt together for a few minutes