Risotto

[Kimo]

Help! I'm making risotto right as I type and need some advice. My son and I normally eat 30-60 minutes before my husband (due to long work hours). Is there a way I could keep some of the risotto on the side and then add a little broth and stir for the last five minutes...so hubby's risotto would taste as good as our risotto an hour prior? Thanks, Kimo

[Jinmyo]

Kimo, this is probably too late. But yes. Do it. Keep the portion of risotto on low, stir when you can. Add piping hot broth and stirstirstir.

[KarenS]

You don't have to keep it warm. Many restaurants cook their risotto to "very al dente" and then spread it out on a sheet tray to cool. The line cook then uses this and stirs and simmers with the hot stock on hand to finish. Risotto is a great party/catering item because ot this trick.

[agnolottigirl]

We are out of season for this one now, at least where I live, but Daniel Bolud's "cafe" cookbook has a really nice asparagus/lemon/lime risotto that is fantastic when the new asparagus crop is in. I've also made it with sauteed shrimpies thrown in--mmmmmm.

[Kimo]

Thanks for the suggestions...learned something new!

[Robert Schonfeld]

You don't have to keep it warm. Many restaurants cook their risotto to "very al dente" and then spread it out on a sheet tray to cool. The line cook then uses this and stirs and simmers with the hot stock on hand to finish. Risotto is a great party/catering item because ot this trick.

"Risotto" and "great party/catering item" strike me as contradictory terms.

[Jinmyo]

You don't have to keep it warm. Many restaurants cook their risotto to "very al dente" and then spread it out on a sheet tray to cool. The line cook then uses this and stirs and simmers with the hot stock on hand to finish. Risotto is a great party/catering item because ot this trick.

"Risotto" and "great party/catering item" strike me as contradictory terms.

Heh. I understand.

But cooking professionally, especially catering is full of contradictions.

[mighty quinn]

Hey Jim/Craig, am I gonna have to start smacking the two of you around or separate you? 

howabout "time out?"

[mighty quinn]

Is it the meat or the motion?

Jim

i've aked myself this question PLENTY of times!!

[mighty quinn]

i'm making risotto for four on friday night, really looking forward to "tweaking" my recipe. i made the brodo last night- a good chunk of round roast (i browned it slightlly) couple of carrots, couple of celery ribs, a big yellow onion, salt/pepper. so simply yummy that i had to use some for mushroom soup tonight! teaching points that i'll use. 1) never used the "wine" phase-will definitely do this and won't stir until the brodo is added 2) i'm going to cheesecloth strain my mushroom broth- i 've had some sediment in the finished product in the past and it's annoying to get that grit when the risotto tastes so good! 3) i'll plate it out flat. it's comforting to know that i've been doing so many things "right" technique-wise. i just wish that i lived in an area where i could obtain rice other than arborio. are there any thoughts about a nice, simple salad that would compliment a wild mushroom risotto? a general vino recommendation would be welcomed as well. i think that i can get my hands on a decent barbera in the short term. thanks for a nicely done course! victoria

[badthings]

Craig's piece is among the best things I've read about risotto. We should all thank him for making it available to us.

Also, Janet Fletcher wrote a good article on the different rice varieties in last week's SF Chron.

[Pongi]

Just my 2 cents!

Actually risotto is supposed to have a 4-5 mins rest after the addition of butter and parmigiano and before serving. This is the meaning of the term "mantecare", which is a procedure - not just a piece of butter in your rice, but something which gives an additional flavour to risotto and helps to get the right texture. This is the issue: to learn from experience the right time to turn off the heat, how much undercooked and moist the rice must be (it's supposed to be still like a soup). This way also gives you an advantage: you can take your time before serving, without hurrying up.

This is also the main mistake people do: making risotto too thick. You don't need to spread risotto in the dish! If it's made in the right way, it will spread by itself. If you can make a mound, it's definitely too thick.

BTW: I'm puzzled about that pressure cooker thing. Why should "most Italians" use it? I grew up in Lombardia, the land of risotto, and have never seen anyone using pressure cooker to make risotto. Of course you can use it, and you can cook rice without stirring it as well...maybe you'll get something good, but my opinion is that it will be "rice", never "risotto".

Pongi