carlos cracco's Basmati risotto

[adey73]

Hi just rewatched Heston B's perfect Risotto program with a brief interlude with Cracco.

Does any Italian speaker actually know the correct ratios of the Basmati & cream & procedure, as it it just isn't working for me in my Thermomix.

Does he toast the Basmati first etc, etc?

What to do!

[hathor]

Are you sure it's Basmati rice? That's a different variety of rice than the Aborio, which has a distinct chalky center and the ability to continue absorbing liquid for as long as you feel like adding it.

Basmati will stop absorbing when it has been cooked, and will not yield the creaminess that is associated with risotto.

So, if he's using basmati.....you're on your own on this one! Let us know how you make out.

[adey73]

It's definitely Basmati, in this version he uses half and half of the rices.

http://dweb.repubblica.it/dweb/2005/02/05/...6caf436156.html

[Man]

It's definitely Basmati, in this version he uses half and half of the rices.

http://dweb.repubblica.it/dweb/2005/02/05/...6caf436156.html

←

But that is 'crema di riso' rather than risotto...

For risotto, the main controversy among Italian fanatics seems to be about the varieties Carnaroli and Vialone Nano, with opinions tending to differ as you move from North East to North. A crucial aspect is the quantity of starch released during the cooking. (To get the crucial creaminess, you rely both on starch and on the final mantecatura with milky fats.). Flavour of course is also important and different varieties have different flavours. Basmati has a wonderful flavour but is real shit for the standard risotto cooking technique. If I remember the program alluded to correctly, Blumenthal 'solved the problem' with one of his sleights of hand: making a Basmati flavoured stock to be added to 'proper' risotto grains. Basically, there is great latitude in the interpretation of risotto, and you have to find your own through experimentation. The great old master Marchesi, for example, does not even use stock for some of his classics. And the modern master Cracco pairs chocolate and anchovies in his risotto, something not every traditionalists would look upon kindly...

man

[Pontormo]

CREMA DI RISO CON I RICCI

4 servings

12 g Carnaroli rice

12 g Basmati rice

200 g Vegetable stock ["broth" is literal translation]

300 g Cream [see note below]

4 g Instant coffee, divided into 4 equal portions of 1 g each

40 g Sea urchins; weight of edible contents

Extra virgin olive oil (light or subtle, e.g. from Liguria or Garda district)

Pour both liquids into a saucepan with all the rice, then bring contents to boil. Allow them to cook for around 15 minutes, checking every 1-2 minutes. (Recipe does not say "simmer" or "stir", but trusts the reader's judgment.)

Stir the resulting cream of rice thoroughly to blend and pass the entire contents of the pan through a fine sieve to eliminate all the solid gunk, i.e. lumps. You're aiming for a perfectly smooth mixture. Salt to taste.

Heat four soup plates.

Spoon 1 g of instant coffee into each plate.

Top each with the cream of rice, making sure it is not too hot.

Distribute the sea urchin, spooning 10 g over each mound [vs. "pool"—not too liquid] of rice.

Finish with a splash of the olive oil.

I may be missing some of the nuances of the original Italian regarding the optimal interaction between the powdered coffee and the rice. Is it saying that if the rice is too liquid the coffee will dissolve before contact with the diner's spoon? At least, that's how I understand it: he wants each of the four components of the dish—coffee, rice, uni, olive oil--to remain discrete and intact upon presentation, relegating the act of unification to the diner during consumption.

N.B. Apparently at Cracco-Peck and other speciality stores you can buy pasteurized uni as shelled, cleaned pulp.

Also note that the recipe doesn't say "panna" for cream, but "crema di latte fresca" or "cream of fresh milk", a phrase unfamiliar to me.

* * *

It was hard to us to figure out why you needed help with Italian until your very useful second post . I googled keywords from your initial inquiry and gather that HB took inspiration from both Marchesi's celebrated "gilt" risotto and Cracco's riffs on tradition.

(The link you provide has more than one recipe, thus its length.)

Edited February 2, 2008 by Pontormo (log)

[hathor]

Pontormo, the panna is usually the stuff in the box that doesn't need refrigeration, and the fresh stuff is in the refrigerated section.

Pasteurized sea urchin just seems....wrong.....

[muichoi]

Marinetti lives again? Yuck.

[adey73]

Now that I have your attention

And I have discovered an interest in Cracco are his two books with English (one about eggs the other white truffle) worth the overpriced Euro?

[fortedei]

Now that I have your attention

And I have discovered an interest in Cracco are his two books with English (one about eggs the other white truffle) worth the overpriced Euro?

←

As someone who ate, many times, at Carlo's former restaurant outside of Alba (and enjoyed it), all I can say about what he is doing now is, yuk. What a travesty. He shouldn't be doing this; he knows better.

[Ore]

What was he like...once upon a time!?!

[fortedei]

What was he like...once upon a time!?!

←

It was an odd sort of place physically, on the alternative road to Bra from Alba (that is, you go west first and then head south a bit). Large garden out front (one time we there, there was a large party and a happier group of people you’ve rarely seen; interesting that he was able to handle both a full restaurant and the party…unusual).

Inside it was not attractive, but he and his wife (?) were fixing it up and had plans to have a few rooms (that obviously never came to fruition). I remember one of the two dining rooms had “bathroom tile” on the floor, from the previous owner. Ugly.

But the food. Wow! Carlo served both a tasting menu and a’ la carte. It was a combination of Piemontese and Lombardian dishes, many classics and some more “modern” dishes, very well executed and “lighter” than elsewhere in Piemonte. It was one of our favorite places near Alba; in fact our second favorite at the time. He was very enthusiastic and really wanted to earn his second Michelin star right there. There was never an indication that he would leave. I would say that the way he approached food was the way Nadia Santini did in the middle 80s and that is high praise indeed. Am sorry that I don’t have my tasting notes here in Italy; they are back in The States.

[Thermomixer]

It's definitely Basmati, in this version he uses half and half of the rices.

http://dweb.repubblica.it/dweb/2005/02/05/...6caf436156.html

Just wondering if you have had any more success with this recipe?

Carlo gave me a copy of his book "Cracco, Sapori in Movimento" when we ate there in May. It has a few recipes for the Thermomix, but doesn't give times/speeds.

I know that the recipe you refer to was at 90 deg for 40 minutes - but other recipes lack detail.

Thanks

Thermomixer in Australia