Risotto--Cook-Off 21

[Track]

A long time ago I had heard that there was an Italian phrase for the technique in the risotto making process where you saute the rice in oil before starting to add the stock to the pan. My fuzzy memory makes me think it was along the lines of "the cat's eye" or something similar in Italian. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?!?

--Track

[slkinsey]

I have heard this process called tostare il riso which simply means "to toast the rice." Never heard anything more fanciful than that.

[adey73]

in The Fat Duck Cookbook, HB says that tostare il riso creates tiny fractures that allows the rice absorb more stock.

[azlee]

when you saute the rice, it goes translucent around the edges and kind of looks like a cat's eye.

[chezcherie]

the "cat's eye" might refer to the small white spot on each grain of arborio? it tends to stay a bit al dente, while the rest of the starch relaxes into the stock, creating that gorgeous creaminess. i call that spot the heart, but maybe that's the eye??

[slkinsey]

The "cat's eye" (occhi di gatto in Italian) thing sounds like an explanation from a cooking show or an affectation of some cooking show chef. It's an interesting and perhaps useful explanation, but I've never heard anyone use this expression.

[joesan]

The process is called the "tostatura" i.e the toasting.

[nickrey]

Thanks for reviving this thread, it has been enlightening reading.

I was very interested to see that no-one referred to the stages of making risotto, each of which is important in the final dish.

First there is the soffritto, which is frying the onion and other aromatic flavour elements. These should be softened and not browned.

Next, as has been said, is the tostura where rice is added and stirred in the hot oil until each grain is covered with oil. Add wine just after this stage and cook it off (some variants add the wine and the rice at the same time and cook until the rice is dry and oiled).

Next comes la cottura: the adding of the stock a portion at a time and stirring until it is incorporated. Taste towards the end of adding your allotted amount of stock. It should still have a bit of bite as the cooking will continue for a few minutes after you take it off the heat. Take it off too early and it will be crunchy; too late and it will be mushy.

Next comes the resting. This is where it goes from ever so slightly hard in the centre to perfectly al dente. Skipping this step is a sure fire step to getting the texture wrong.

Lastly there is the mantecatura in which olive oil/butter and parmesan are added for extra body and richness. This is stirred vigorously in with a wooden spoon to assimilate the ingredients into the dish and will have reached the perfect stage when the stirring becomes more difficult.

Add other ingredients (asparagus and/or chicken or prawns or strawberry puree; or whatever you desire) at the appropriate time during each of these stages for them to be cooked as you want.

[slkinsey]

Lest we think these are special Italian techniques and/or risotto-specific terms, we should understand that they're completely mundane kitchen words that just happen to be in Italian. Another way of saying all this is:

(1) slowly softening the vegetable base (soffritto = "slowly fried");

(2) toasting the rice (tostatura = "toasting");

(3) cooking the rice (cottura = "cooking");

(4) resting (which I suppose could be called la riposatura if one were so inclined); and

(5) whipping fat and cheese into the cooked rice mixture (mantecatura = "whipping").

As to #5, I'd say it's pretty rare to whip olive oil into the risotto at the end, although I'm sure some people do it. I've only ever seen it with seafood-based risotto (in which case neither butter not parmigiano is used).

Edited March 30, 2009 by slkinsey (log)

[adey73]

Is using Pecorino instead Parmigiano considered a mortal sin?

[sadistick]

Is using Pecorino instead Parmigiano considered a mortal sin?

←

No, it all depends on the type of risotto you are making.

I have done a "Pizza" risotto (Roasted tomato risotto) and added mozzarella at the end, and it turned out great.

However, adding cream of any type is a sin of all sins.

[Track]

The "cat's eye" (occhi di gatto in Italian) thing sounds like an explanation from a cooking show or an affectation of some cooking show chef.  It's an interesting and perhaps useful explanation, but I've never heard anyone use this expression.

←

That sounds about the closest I can remember. It was a chef in culinary school that threw the phrase around so he might've coined it for all I know. I appreciate the insight!

--Track

[nickrey]

Lest we think these are special Italian techniques and/or risotto-specific terms, we should understand that they're completely mundane kitchen words that just happen to be in Italian.  Another way of saying all this is:

(1) slowly softening the vegetable base (soffritto = "slowly fried");

(2) toasting the rice (tostatura = "toasting");

(3) cooking the rice (cottura = "cooking");

(4) resting (which I suppose could be called la riposatura if one were so inclined); and

(5) whipping fat and cheese into the cooked rice mixture (mantecatura = "whipping").

As to #5, I'd say it's pretty rare to whip olive oil into the risotto at the end, although I'm sure some people do it.  I've only ever seen it with seafood-based risotto (in which case neither butter not parmigiano is used).

←

Everyday words but vital steps.

And don't they just sound more exciting in Italian?

[MrSpiffy]

Alright... so I read through the risotto course and watched the Good Eats episode on rice and decided that it was high time I tried making risotto. Now, I'm no expert on risotto. In fact, I'm not professional chef. I figure I'm just a fairly-decent, enthusiastic, amateur chef-at-home that likes to do things right. (I'm an engineer... it's practically in my blood to be super-picky about stuff. Ask my wife!) So, I gathered my ingredients and got started.

I melted butter and began sweating the onion (no browning!), added the rice and stirred for a few minutes, and then started adding a mixture of chicken stock and dry white wine (This was according to the recipe. I realize this may not be a traditional method, but I don't see how it could cause such an issue.)

Now, here's where things went awry... The stock didn't seem to absorb very quickly. It seemed fine at first, but it got to be a pretty lengthy time for absorption each time I added more stock. The risotto took forever to cook! And by forever, I mean it was around 2 hours ( !!) before I had something that was no longer crunchy and could be eaten and enjoyed. I'm trying to figure out what went wrong (as something very obviously did!). But I can't put my finger on it. I tried to keep stirring constantly, but that didn't seem to help at all. I also tried not stirring, and that didn't help, either. Anyway...

Here's what was used:

• 12-inch KitchenAid fully-clad fry pan
  
• RiceSelect Arborio Rice
  
• Electric Range
  

The rest is just typical ingredients: onion, butter, chicken stock, etc.

Here are my thoughts on why it failed:

• Wrong pan: fry pan is too wide, facilitating evaporation rather than absorption (I have a saucier on its way.)
  
• Rice brand/type is inferio (didn't say superfino on the container), fails to absorb liquids well
  
• Electric ranges aren't the best for making risotto, providing poor heating characteristics
  
• Added too much stock at once. Does adding too much liquid kill the risotto? I added stock until it was just at the level of the rice. Too much..?
  

Any thoughts? Can anyone help me as to why it took so long to make this risotto? There's no reason for it to take as long as it did. So, any help or advice would be totally and completely appreciated. Thanks! Also, is it easier to cook risotto in smaller batches? (i.e. 1 cup of rice at a time, rather than 2 cups?)

By the way, it did eventually cook (after adding additional water to avoid over-concentration of chicken stock flavor). And it is tasty and creamy. But there's no way I'm spending 2 hours to cook risotto ever again!

Edited February 1, 2010 by MrSpiffy (log)

[howsmatt]

Was the stock and wine hot when you added it? It should be. Also, perhaps your heat was too low.

Matt

[nickrey]

I agree that a frypan is likely to be too wide for making risotto, use a saucepan instead.

This is not likely the cause of your problem though.

The stock should be warm when you add it, otherwise it cools down the pan and you will have to wait for it to heat up again before it starts cooking and absorbing.

Add a ladleful at a time rather than topping up to a certain level.

Your pan was likely not on high enough a heat, thus cooking too slowly.

I'd add the wine and stock separately.

Basic summary of method:

1. sweat onion, add rice to oil, stir

2. add wine, cook until it evaporates

3. add hot stock one ladle at a time (it needs to be a high enough heat to cook quite vigourously)

4. stir until absorbed

5. add another ladle of stock

6. etc.

7. when all stock is absorbed, taste for consistency

8. rest for a while

9. whip in parmesan cheese

10. serve

It should only take around 20 minutes from start to finish.

Edited as it posted before I was finished typing.

Edited February 1, 2010 by nickrey (log)

[ChrisN]

I tend to use a dutch oven for risotto, since I'm messy. As others have said the problems probably come from not adding stock that is hot and putting in too much stock at once. When I cook risotto, I have the stock in a small pot on the burner next to the one the risotto is in. (Lowish heat is fine.) The first addition of liquid is two ladles, but only one after that. There may also be a problem with not waiting long enough between ladles-full. Once I add liquid, I stir until the rice mixture no longer behaves as a liquid--in other words, if I move rice etc. aside with a spoon, and the hole I made fills itself in (even if just partway), then I keep stirring and don't add stock.

Chris

[Shalmanese]

Regardless of anything else, it shouldn't take 2 hours to cook a risotto. I don't have any idea what the problem is but I would first suspect that it's the rice.If you still have some of the rice left over, try this experiment:

Set a large pan of water at a rapid boil and add a handful of rice grains. Every 10 minutes, take out a few grains at taste. If they're not all completely cooked in 20 minutes, I would suspect there's something wrong with the rice.

[Soundman]

Nickreys method is spot on, follow that and you'll make a very good risotto.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I usually use a saute pan or a fry pan, but I agree that the main issue is that the stock needs to be hot or you end up slowing down the process every time you add more.

[ambra]

It sounds to me like you cooked it at too low a a heat...as one of the previous posters mentioned. Many risotto enthusiasts will tell you it needs to be at a very high heat (and be constantly stirred).

If you are worried about it being the rice, do what Shalmanese said to do.....

As for adding broth, it needs to be more than just hot, needs to be close to, if not boiling.....

Edited February 1, 2010 by ambra (log)

[Shalmanese]

MrSpiffy's technique may not be optimal but there's no way poor technique alone could cause a 2 hour risotto. Even if you were actively trying to bollocks risotto up, it's hard to see how you could ever get a version that's so badly prepared that it would take 2 hours. Rice granules placed in warm tap water will swell up in less time than 2 hours. You could get Ferran Adria and have him spend 6 months in his top secret laboratory and. at the end of it, he maybe, MAYBE would have come up with some fantastically intricate recipe that retards the chemistry of risotto just so so that you indeed have a recipe for 2 hour risotto.

One of your ingredients is completely out of whack and my best guess is your rice.

[MrSpiffy]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I really appreciate all of the suggestions.

To answer some questions/comments:

• I had the stock simmering just under a boil the entire time. I can't imagine it wouldn't have been hot enough.
  
• I did think about maybe too low a temperature, so I raised it up a touch, and it did seem to help a little. But not a lot...
  
• It could possibly be the rice. Like Shalmanese said, I can't imagine that, even with poor technique, I'd have a 2-hour risotto. If anything I'd be squashing rice grains and end up with pudding instead.
  

I'll give the testing method mentioned and see how the rice comes out. That should tell me pretty quickly if it's the rice or not. Maybe the stuff is just old.

Thanks again!

[andiesenji]

I would suggest that you try a different rice - either type or brand.

I've always used arborio rice but a few months ago bought some carnaroli rice and have found it much more to my liking.

My most recent purchases have been from this vendor:

http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=127574&prrfnbr=146807

And I have found this to be the best yet and after using up the first bag I reordered three bags as this is exactly to my liking.

[MrSpiffy]

Very cool. Thanks, andiesenji! How long do you keep your rice? I assume it becomes unusable at some age. Since this is my first foray into the world of risotto, I'm not sure how long rice keeps. (BTW, the rice I bought didn't have an expiration on it.)