Risotto--Cook-Off 21

[Susan in FL]

What kind of rice have people been using?

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Uh-oh . . . That question could provoke the discussion of a debatable and controversial subject!

I am a die-hard for using carnaroli.

[jgm]

If anyone needs a good risotto recipe, my uncle and I won this golden spoon award for risotto a while back, beat out some top restaraunts too!  That risotto was artichoke, but theres so many good ones!

cheers.

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Artichoke risotto sounds heavenly! Would you post the recipe to RecipeGullet?

pretty please????

with parmagiano-reggiano on top?

[Chris Amirault]

I am a die-hard for using carnaroli.

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I've only used arborio and find that hitting that al dente/creamy balance can be tough. Does the carnaroli help?

Also, is the freshness of the rice important? I'd expect so from my understanding of other kinds of rice (jasmine, basmati), but I'm not too sure.

[JAZ]

I've always used arborio as well. Maybe I'll pick up some carnaroli and give it a try.

[eje]

Funny, it's been just about a year since I made asparagus risotto following the recipe from this

post. I guess it is about time again!

Maybe I'll even try to track down some robiola cheese...

BTW, what kind of pan is that Janet? It's quite lovely and looks perfect for risotto.

Edited April 17, 2006 by eje (log)

[JAZ]

I added my recipe to RecipeGullet here.

Erik, the pan is a Mauviel professional sautepan. It was fantastic for the risotto -- I loved how responsive it was to changes in heat. Now I just have to polish it!

[Susan in FL]

I am a die-hard for using carnaroli.

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I've only used arborio and find that hitting that al dente/creamy balance can be tough. Does the carnaroli help?

Also, is the freshness of the rice important? I'd expect so from my understanding of other kinds of rice (jasmine, basmati), but I'm not too sure.

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I really do think it's easier to get the perfect al dente and creaminess, and I like the starchier taste, too. I used nothing but arborio for years, and switched as soon as I tried the carnaroli. In a pinch, I still use arborio; it's in all the supermarkets and carnaroli is harder to find. However, most of the time, I have a supply that I've ordered, usually from Lotus Foods, here.

Maybe freshness is important with this, but I go through it pretty fast and so I don't imagine I've ever had it get stale. The bags I order are small, so it's not like having to store a bag of several pounds of opened rice.

[Adam Balic]

Risotto alla Milanese from the Lombardy thread. This recipe contains beef marrow, red wine and beef stock, so it isn't as yellow-yellow as many recipes for the same dish. Great flavour though.

[Pan]

Beautiful presentation, Adam!

[little ms foodie]

Risotto is my go to meal, I make it often. Tonight was risotto with left over Easter ham and peas

my absolutes for risotto are:

1) always toast the risotto rice in the butter/shallot mixture

2) always use 1 c. of white wine before the first ladle of stock

3) adjust the temp of the range as you cook it so that it will take the right amount of liquid, which is the flavor

I LOVE risotto!!

[Grub]

Safron, pancetta and mushroom risotto with chicken.

Didn't have any parm for the risotto, so I went with some Gryere cheese, which turned out really nice -- the nutty flavor was great with the mushrooms (portabello and shitake). Safron made for an interesting color...

[Carlovski]

I often make what is I guess a slightly Anglicised version with smoked haddock. I use the milk I poached the haddock in (strained of the onion and peppercorns I put in) made up with some stock and add the haddock right at the end. No cheese for this one please but I do sometimes add a touch of cream which I consider a definite no-no in standard risotto recipes.

It's basically a more squidgy kedgeree - but nothing wrong with that! If I make this weekend I'll take some pictures.

[little ms foodie]

grub that looks sooooo good! right up my ally. when do you add your saffron? in the very beginning or later?

[Grub]

grub that looks sooooo good! right up my ally. when do you add your saffron? in the very beginning or later?

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Thank you! The colors seemed to come out really nice -- which was completely accidental and unplanned.

The saffron was added a little later. (I'm no saffron expert. The recipe called for ground saffron, which I've never come across. I had saffron threads which I ground. I'm not sure if that was what I should have done, or if I should just have used the threads as they were -- they seem so fragile that perhaps that would have worked fine too. I've just never cooked with saffron before).

Basically, I cooked the onion, added some garlic and then the rice. Then, some wine, and after that was cooked off, I repeatedly added stock, which cooked off. I think I added the saffron after the first bit of stock. Maybe I should have added it later on, towards the end when the cheese was added, to retain the flavor of saffron, because there wasn't too much taste of it left. First time I've used the stuff.

In fact, I had no idea what risotto was until the other day -- I had the impression that it was uh, something different, like a whole, complete one-dish meal. I realize it IS that, but it can also just be a rice side-dish. And I've done rice in similar ways before -- with onions, celery, garlic, and lots of different spices. When I looked it up in that grand old "Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery," it just described it as rice, Milanese style.

[Catherine Iino]

I just stumbled on this cook-off, having made a really quick-and-dirty risotto with asparagus and smoked salmon last evening. But reading through this thread inspires me to try Shalmanese's miso-based risotto with asparagus. (The NYTimes had a recipe for asparagus with miso-butter sauce on Wednesday, so the combination just seems promising.) I might even try it using short-grained Japanese rice (sometimes labeled sushi rice).

[Catherine Iino]

A question: Often in restaurants I have been served risotto that I thought was undercooked. I'm all for al dente; these actually seem chalky or gritty. But am I just ignorant? Is that a traditional way to serve risotto?

[Shaya]

grub that looks sooooo good! right up my ally. when do you add your saffron? in the very beginning or later?

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Thank you! The colors seemed to come out really nice -- which was completely accidental and unplanned.

The saffron was added a little later. (I'm no saffron expert. The recipe called for ground saffron, which I've never come across. I had saffron threads which I ground. I'm not sure if that was what I should have done, or if I should just have used the threads as they were -- they seem so fragile that perhaps that would have worked fine too. I've just never cooked with saffron before).

Basically, I cooked the onion, added some garlic and then the rice. Then, some wine, and after that was cooked off, I repeatedly added stock, which cooked off. I think I added the saffron after the first bit of stock. Maybe I should have added it later on, towards the end when the cheese was added, to retain the flavor of saffron, because there wasn't too much taste of it left. First time I've used the stuff.

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Grub - your instincts were right about grinding up whole threads - these will be of much better quality than the ground stuff. The Iranian saffron is superior to the Spanish (although more pricey and harder to find as well).

My grandmother taught me to add some sugar to a few threads in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them up; then to add a bit of boiling water to them - this releases the flavor. She also warned me (and still does) not to over-do it with saffron, too much can be overpowering and too much for our systems to handle. There was a thread about saffron not too long ago and many people complained they don't like it, so perhaps they were exposed to too-large doses. If I accidentally add too much water, I simply let the excess cool and store it in the freezer in a zippy for future use. You can even break off pieces as you need them.

For risotto, you want to add a bit of stock to the threads instead of water, in a vessel separate from the rest of your stock, and add it to the rice when the rice is about 2/3 cooked; this way the flavor will be more pronounced in the final dish.

[Megan Blocker]

My grandmother taught me to add some sugar to a few threads in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them up; then to add a bit of boiling water to them - this releases the flavor.

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Why sugar, Shaya?

ETA: Is it an abrasive for the saffron?

Edited April 23, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Rachel made a very nice mushroom risotto to go with our pork chops (soy/teriyaki marinade) tonight:

No Carnarolli or special Italian rices here, just a regular medium-grain. She used regular button mushrooms and reconstituted dried porcinis, and plenty of Parmiggiano-Reggiano.

[Shaya]

My grandmother taught me to add some sugar to a few threads in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them up; then to add a bit of boiling water to them - this releases the flavor.

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Why sugar, Shaya?

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Just got off the phone with my grandmother, "Mama", our nightly chat, mostly about food. She says this is the way she was taught, this is the Iranian tradition, and it is typically crushed with a spoon- perhaps the the sugar is necessary to help break up the threads (as you say, Megan, an abrasive). The amount is so miniscule the flavor doesn't enter the final dish. I admit that I often use salt instead, but don't tell Mama.

Edited April 23, 2006 by Shaya (log)

[Torrilin]

A question: Often in restaurants I have been served risotto that I thought was undercooked. I'm all for al dente; these actually seem chalky or gritty. But am I just ignorant? Is that a traditional way to serve risotto?

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If it's crunchy, it's Not Right. That means the rice didn't get anywhere near fully cooked. If the rice has a soft but definitely there texture, it's the way I like it. Good rice in risotto has a pleasant and chewy texture that's a lot of fun. If the rice is mushy and half melting into the sauce, it's overcooked. I don't like it as well overcooked, but I'm not gonna kick an overcooked risotto out of bed for eating crackers.

There's also the sauce texture to consider. Some risotti are fairly firm, some are bordering on rice soup. I don't think there's one perfect texture for the sauce because different ingredients and uses for the risotto tend to require different sauce behavior.

I tend to think of risotto as the perfect one pot meal because it's so variable. Homemade stock makes it especially lovely, but you can get a nice risotto with plain water. Good flavored bullion can make a decent risotto too. Fresh veggies can be great in a risotto (try it with broccoli), or you can use frozen. You can use meat or fish or shellfish cooked in the risotto, or you can warm up pre-cooked meat in the risotto at the end. It likes having shallots, or onions, or garlic, or pretty much any other Allium family veggie, but it can get along fine with none too.

Emily

[Catherine Iino]

Thank you, Emily. I share your taste in this entirely. But I know I do have a couple of blind spots in my otherwise perfect taste--the most notable being blue cheeses, which I just can't abide--so I thought I'd ask.

[-sheila mooney]

I just stumbled on this cook-off, having made a really quick-and-dirty risotto with asparagus and smoked salmon last evening. But reading through this thread inspires me to try Shalmanese's miso-based risotto with asparagus. (The NYTimes had a recipe for asparagus with miso-butter sauce on Wednesday, so the combination just seems promising.) I might even try it using short-grained Japanese rice (sometimes labeled sushi rice).

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speaking of the nytimes: they had a recipe a while back for risotto with duck confit. here in montreal i can get great confit, i have homemade broth and canaroli rice. the result? hubba hubba ding ding! and it's easy enough for a friday after work come on over dinner.

[Susan in FL]

One night last week I made risotto again. I roughly followed the recipe for Citrus Risotto with Seared Garlic-Chile Shrimp by Bill Granger, using orange and lime. Really good!

[Shalmanese]

Grub - your instincts were right about grinding up whole threads - these will be of much better quality than the ground stuff.  The Iranian saffron is superior to the Spanish (although more pricey and harder to find as well).

My grandmother taught me to add some sugar to a few threads in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them up; then to add a bit of boiling water to them - this releases the flavor.  She also warned me (and still does) not to over-do it with saffron, too much can be overpowering and too much for our systems to handle.  There was a thread about saffron not too long ago and many people complained they don't like it, so perhaps they were exposed to too-large doses.  If I accidentally add too much water, I simply let the excess cool and store it in the freezer in a zippy for future use.  You can even break off pieces as you need them.

For risotto, you want to add a bit of stock to the threads instead of water, in a vessel separate from the rest of your stock, and add it to the rice when the rice is about 2/3 cooked; this way the flavor will be more pronounced in the final dish.

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I've heard that wine is the best soaking liquid for saffron. The alcohol releases a few more of the alcohol soluble flavours. Then again, it could just be bullshit.