One of my favorite things about risotto is that it is already Gluten Free... I, know, it's awesome, right? I remember trying risotto in a restaurant in my late teens/early twenties and I remember not liking it... I blame the fact that my taste buds were still not mature enough for the complexity of flavors within risotto... It was the period when I thought Boone's Farm was the greatest alcoholic beverage... Yeah, I know, it wasn't the best time in my life...
A couple of years ago, I decided to try and make a semi-fancy dish for dinner with Aaron. I had tried Chicken Marsala at restaurants and it was OK (I have historically not approved of mushrooms in my diet) and I decided to try to make it myself (found Tyler Florence's recipe online... google it, if you are interested)... After all, if I didn't like the mushrooms, Aaron could eat them like he does in the restaurants... I couldn't remember what they served the Chicken Marsala with and I had just watched the "Good Eats" episode where Alton made risotto (how wrong is it that "Good Eats" is off the air? I could so totally use his help in understanding the science when converting my favorite recipes to GF options). I decided to try it...
My favorite thing about risotto? You don't really need a recipe... Nope... You don't... Oh, sure, you can use one for ideas on what to do and strictly measure the ingredients and what not - but you don't NEED to... Seriously... All you need is (1) the RIGHT kind of rice - Arborio, (2) some aromatics (onions, garlic, etc), (3) some kind of wine/alcohol (whatever you have - white, red, marsala, etc), (4) another cooking liquid,and (5) your choice of flavor options. That's it... Really...It is the process that matters, not what you put in it.
I have a container of Arborio rice in my pantry JUST for making risotto - you can't exchange it for long grain or jasmine rice. The Arborio rice has more starch and, as it cooks, the extra starch will break down into a nice thick sauce that lovingly coats the rice grains. If you try to cook Arborio rice like you would regular white rice, you will end up with a sticky, gummy, lumpy, rice ball that is not at all appetizing... Save the Arborio for risotto.
The MOST IMPORTANT STEP is to preheat your liquid choice. You generally want to let a pot of it simmer on the stove somewhere near your risotto pot. You can use any kind of stock (chicken, beef, vegetable, mushroom, seafood stock etc). You DO NOT want to use water - it will not impart any flavor to the rice... and you don't want to end up with bland rice, do you? It helps to have a ladle in the pot of liquid to make it easier to add to the rice when you need it. I've also added dried herbs to the simmering liquid, to add more flavor to the rice... You don't have to, but you can.
Once you have your liquid simmering, the risotto starts out with the aromatics sauteing in some oil (I use olive). Depending on how big of a batch you want to make, adjust your aromatic/oil ratio... When I make a single serving of risotto, I use about 1/4 cup (or less) of finely chopped onion (and maybe a little garlic, if I'm feeling adventurous) and about a tablespoon or so of oil.Some recipes call for shallots... Use whatever you want. Once the aromatics cook down a little bit, then you add some rice (about 1/3 cup for a single serving - I just eyeball it) and let it get coated with the oil and aromatics (If you've ever made Rice-a-Roni, it's the same idea as the first step for it). Saute the rice for a minute or two and then add enough of the alcohol to cover the rice. Start stirring... You will stir this pot for the forseeable future... I hope you didn't have any plans...
When the liquid from the alcohol absorbs and you can start to see the dry bottom of the pot when you move your wooden spoon through it, you are ready to add your first ladle of the hot liquid... Keep stirring... Repeat these two steps until the rice is cooked through (some prefer al dente) and you have a nice "gravy" - If you stop stirring for anything longer than about 5-10 seconds, your rice will burn and you will need to start over (speaking from personal experience here)... The stirring process helps to develop the starch to make the sauce, so it is important...
You can now add whatever else you want to the rice... want some cheese and veggies in there? Parmesan and asparagus tips (already partially cooked) can be folded in. I've seen peas and sauteed mushrooms as another possibility... Really, the kind of risotto is only really limited by what YOU want to put in it. Using red wine and beef broth, you would have a great companion for a beef dish. Marsala wine, parmesan, and italian parsley make a good side dish to Chicken Marsala... If you are so inclined, I've heard shrimp is a good additive to the risotto, but you'll probably want to add it a bit earlier in the cooking process to make sure it cooks all the way. Hmmm... I wonder if you can make an asian version by using sake and a soy sauce seasoned chicken broth...
The only thing I don't like about making risotto is all the stirring... I get tied to my stove for at least 30 minutes while making the risotto just because it has to be stirred all. the. time.... I usually don't put much stock in those "as seen on TV" products (look! You can cut a tomato!) but I think one of those Stir Crazy Robotic Stirrer thingies might be on my Christmas list this year... I'll still be tied to my kitchen, but by not having to stir the risotto (only adding liquid when needed), it frees me up to make the main dish to go with it... Then, I can have risotto more often! As much as I love the stuff, the constant stirring usually prevents me from having the time to cook it - you can't exactly read textbooks while making it...
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