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Risotto preparation. Master class: the perfect risotto at home

There are such warm sunny days when we gather with friends, go to the river together, have fun and just have a good time. In such weather, you want kebabs cooked on the grill with your own hands, or delicious pilaf, which, thanks to their unusual aroma, gather everyone present around them, forcing them to listen to grumbling in the stomach and feel wild hunger while this delicacy is laid out on plates. If only all days were like this... But it also happens that the street is dirty, cold and damp, but good company and tasty unusual dish still want. If the picture is the same outside your window, then feel free to gather friends at home and cook fragrant, tasty, sunny italian dish- risotto.

What is risotto? Contrary to popular belief, this is not pilaf and not its kind, and risotto cannot be called porridge. This is a completely independent dish, rather not even a dish, but a way of cooking rice. With the mastery of the classic risotto recipe, you can use your imagination, previous experience and the advice of seasoned chefs to create your own. unique recipe. This is how the variety of risotto that can be seen today arose. This is mushroom risotto, and sweet, and traditional meat, and vegetarian, and with the addition of seafood. Risotto can also be different in consistency, if you cook according to a classic recipe, then it should turn out creamy, but there are recipe options with a more liquid or, conversely, crumbly consistency.

Why is it better to cook risotto in a pleasant company? You can cook alone, but you can't eat alone. Risotto loves a company of 4-6 hungry people. The cooking process itself takes no more than 20-25 minutes, but it requires a lot of attention and patience. But the preparation will have to spend a lot of time and effort. Just friends will have something to do, and everyone will have time to get hungry. What do you need to prepare to make a delicious risotto? Start, as always, with dishes. A good risotto is not complete without a wooden spoon, which is needed to constantly stir the rice, a ladle with which you will add the broth, a large saucepan, better than liters for 8, a large cast-iron pan with a comfortable handle, in which risotto will be cooked, as well as a very fine cheese grater.

Dishes, of course, play an important role, but without quality products all efforts to find suitable utensils will be in vain. Withered carrots and greens, onions that have become a little soft, semi-hard cheese, long-grain rice and sugary cahors are not suitable for risotto. All ingredients must be fresh and tasty, such that you will definitely like it, all together and each separately. What kind of ingredients to stock up depends on what kind of risotto you are going to cook. We suggest cooking risotto with porcini mushrooms. This recipe cannot be called a classic, but with this example you can understand the basic principle of preparing this Italian dish.

Risotto does not start with rice at all, but with properly cooked broth. The broth can be vegetable, meat or fish, sometimes purified broth can be used instead of broth. drinking water. For mushroom risotto, as strange as it may sound, chicken broth will do. Chicken broth is not the liquid that remains after boiling chicken, it is prepared as a separate dish, with the addition of vegetables, spices and herbs. For cooking good chicken broth you will need 5 liters of purified drinking water, 1 cute chicken, 2 beautiful carrots, 2 white juicy onions, a teaspoon of peppercorns, a little large sea salt, a glass of dry white wine and a group of activists who will help cut, grind, chop and cook it all. In fact, much more guilt may be needed, since activists will not help just like that.

So, get out your big pot and start creating. Rinse the chicken thoroughly in running water, separate the legs and wings from it, and cut the remaining body into 4 parts. Put the chicken in a saucepan, add some sea salt and pour 5 liters of water over it. Salt should be added quite a bit, no more than a pinch, since the broth should remain practically unsalted. While you're doing all these chicken and salt manipulations, ask your friends to lightly crush the peppercorns with a knife and chop the onions and carrots. At the same time, you need to ensure that the carrots are chopped. large pieces, and the onion is very small, each piece should be the size of rice.

When the chicken is in the pot, and the carrots and onions are chopped, put a dry cast-iron skillet on the fire, put the carrots and onions on it, and cook until the onions become transparent. Put the pan on the fire, wait for it to boil, reduce the heat to a minimum and send the most patient person to remove the resulting foam. When there is no foam left, it's time to add vegetables and peppers and cover the pan with a lid for an hour and a half. At this time, you can prepare other ingredients or drink some wine and reminisce about bright sunny days. After an hour and a half, pour a glass of dry white wine into the broth. And after another 25 minutes, make a bouquet of your favorite greens, with the addition of bay leaf and dip it in the pan for a few minutes. Strain the finished broth and pour into a clean saucepan. Finally the broth is ready!

With the most important thing sorted out, now you can start cooking the risotto itself. To do this, you need 400 grams of Arborio rice, you can try to find other rice for risotto, for example, Carnaroli or Vialone nano, but Arborio is found on the shelves of our stores much more often. Also prepare 250 grams of fresh porcini mushrooms, 1 small head of white onion, 1 small clove of garlic, a bunch of parsley, 100 grams of your favorite butter, 1 more glass of dry white wine, 2 liters of chicken broth cooked earlier, 50 grams of parmigiano reggiano cheese, salt , freshly ground black pepper and a few stigmas of saffron.

It is worth briefly explaining why exactly this kind of rice is used to make risotto, just this kind of cheese, and only dry wine. Rice suitable for risotto contains two types of starch, one of which is on the surface of each grain of rice, it is it that allows you to achieve a creamy texture, and the other is inside and prevents the rice from overcooking and turning the risotto into porridge. It is to preserve the starch on the surface of the grains that rice for risotto should never be washed. Just like three types of rice, only three types of cheese can be called ideal for risotto. These are Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan, Grana Padano and Trentingrana. All these cheeses have a grain structure in common, and they are used in classic recipe risotto. With the choice of wine, the situation is much simpler. In fact, there are only two requirements for it: it must be dry and of high quality. If these two requirements are met, then it doesn't matter which wine you decide to use.

If you continue like this and talk about each ingredient, the company you have gathered will be ready to eat the chicken used to cook the broth from hunger, so involve them in preparing the products. Measure out 400 grams of rice, clean, rinse thoroughly and chop the mushrooms, chop the parsley very finely, put the broth on a small fire, grate the cheese and finely chop the onion, put a pinch of saffron in a glass and pour over the hot broth. Only now you can start cooking the risotto itself.

Get out your large cast iron skillet, put it on the fire and heat up about 30 grams of butter. Add finely chopped onion to the oil and fry it until it becomes translucent. At this stage, you can not be distracted, because if the onion burns, you will have to throw it away and start frying a new portion. Now it's time for the rice. Pour it into the pan in a quick circular motion. From now on, constantly stir the future risotto. Fry the rice until it becomes almost transparent and make sure that it is evenly soaked in oil. Now pour in the wine, mix it with the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice has absorbed all the wine.

Immediately after the wine has been absorbed, you can begin to add the broth. By now it should be boiling. Scoop up the broth with a ladle and pour it into the pan, stir the rice until it absorbs all the broth. Then add the broth again and stir again. While you are making the broth, so that invited friends do not get bored, ask them to cook mushrooms. To do this, heat 30 grams of butter in a separate frying pan, add a clove of garlic, chopped mushrooms to it and fry them over high heat for 3-4 minutes. It is necessary to ensure that the mushrooms do not burn, so constant stirring is also required here. Ready mushrooms need a little salt, pepper, remove the garlic and add finely chopped parsley.

When the broth pot is half full, add the mushrooms to the risotto and pour in the saffron broth, stir and continue to add the broth in small portions. When the rice is ready, remove the pan from the heat. Cut the rest butter in small cubes, add it to the risotto along with the grated cheese and mix thoroughly until the mass becomes homogeneous.

And now you can arrange the risotto on plates and eat immediately. Although after such a long preparation for this event, a serious appetite should have been played out, the risotto will surely disappear from the plates before it has time to appear there. Perhaps such a long cooking process was not invented by chance and is designed to contribute to the appearance of hungry grumbling in the stomach, so that later there is no trace of the cooked risotto, because eating it cannot be put off until later. Bon appetit and sunny mood!

Alena Karamzina

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Rice is one of the few cereals National food on the basis of which there are in most countries of the world. So the Italian cuisine did not disregard this miracle product. Risotto is a rice dish cooked in broth. It is common in all regions of the republic, but it is still preferred in the north of the country. At home, it is usually served first before the main meal. The huge variety of types of risotto makes it an attractive target for both restaurant and home cooks. Our article is a casual guide to the world where rice rules.

The history of risotto is naturally linked to the history of rice in Italy. Groats were first brought to the country by the Arabs in the Middle Ages. The humidity coming from the Mediterranean Sea was ideal for growing this crop.

The popularity of rice grew, but mainly among the wealthy population due to exorbitant prices for the product. As soon as mass sales of cereals abroad began, its cost in the republic quickly began to decline. This contributed to its presence in almost every home.

Supposedly, the first recipe for risotto dates back to 1809, when a young glassblower from Flanders, accustomed to using saffron as a pigment in his craft, added the spice to boiled rice at a wedding celebration.

As a dish with an established recipe for risotto, it was first mentioned in the book Trattato di cucina (Treatise on Cooking) in 1854. However, the question of who exactly invented the dish that has become traditional is still open in Italy.

Varieties of rice for cooking

Risotto is usually made with round or short grain rice. Such varieties have the ability to absorb liquid and release starch. Therefore, they are stickier when cooked than long-grain cereals.

The main varieties of rice from which the dish is cooked in Italy are called: A rborio (Arborio), Baldo (Baldo), Carnaroli (Carnaroli), Maratelli (Maratelli), Padano (Padano), Roma (Roma), Vialone Nano (Vialone Nano).

Carnaroli, Maratelli and Vialone Nano are considered the best and most expensive options. Moreover, the first of them is less likely to be digested. And the latter - cooks faster and absorbs seasonings better.

Species like Roma and Baldo won't have the signature risotto creamy taste. It is believed that they are better suited for soups and sweet rice desserts.

Varieties by region

Risotto is so versatile that almost every chef can boast their own masterpiece. But there are varieties whose recipes do not need to be supplemented. All of them have traditional names:

Risotto alla milanese (Risotto alla milanese) - a dish born in. Prepare it for beef broth with beef marrow, lard and. Flavored and tinted with saffron. We recommend reading the article.
Risotto al Barolo is a Piedmontese dish. Made with red wine and Borlotti beans.
Risotto al nero di seppia (Risotto al nero di seppia) is a dish specific to the region. It contains cuttlefish and its ink, which gives it a jet black color.

Risi e bisi (Risi e bisi) is another representative of Veneto. This spring version of cooking is more like a thick soup and is usually served with a spoon rather than a fork. Young green peas are added to it and seasoned.
Risotto alla zucca (Risotto alla zucca) - pumpkin dish with saffron and grated cheese.
Risotto alla pilota is a dish typical of Mantova. They cook it with, pork and.
Risotto ai funghi (Risotto ai funghi) is a mushroom version of cooking rice. In its composition, porcini mushrooms, boletus, summer mushrooms or champignons are more often present.

In Italy, the term risotto means not so much a rice dish as a special technology for its preparation. Therefore, there are a huge number of its types.

Recipes

It is not possible to list all risotto recipes in one or even several articles. Not only around the world, but even within the borders of Italy itself, no one will undertake to calculate their exact number. Therefore, in the article we have selected the options that are most popular.

Classical

As well as from the “song of words you can’t throw out”, so in the recipes national dishes it is impossible to pass by the classics. For risotto, the Milanese version is traditional. That is what we will look at first.

Required Ingredients:

Round-grain rice - 320 g;
Meat broth - 1l;
Dry white wine - 100 ml;
Beef bone marrow - 30 g;
Butter - 60 g;
Saffron stigmas (16 pieces) or ground saffron (1 sachet);
Onion - ½ pc.;
Hard cheese (parmesan, grana padano) - 50 g;
Salt to taste.

It is unlikely that you will find prepared beef marrow on sale. But it is found in sufficient quantities in the femur and tibia. It is perfectly separated from hard tissue with a narrow spoon.

If you do not have the opportunity to purchase any of the famous Italian hard cheese, then use domestic products (Gouda, Tilsiter, Russian).

So, first of all, we prepare saffron in case of using stigmas. They must be poured with 50 ml of hot water and left for 2 hours.
Next, in a frying pan with high sides, melt 30 g of butter and fry finely chopped onion and bone marrow on it. Add rice and fry until the grains become shiny. At this point, add white wine and let it evaporate over high heat.

Salt to taste, add hot broth in such an amount that it completely covers the rice. During cooking over medium heat, stir the cereal several times. Add broth if necessary.

A few minutes before readiness, add infusion or saffron powder. Mix thoroughly again.

Remove the pan from the heat and enrich the flavor of the risotto with the remaining butter and grated cheese. Let cool for 5 minutes. Your Milanese risotto is ready to serve!

With mushrooms

Mushrooms are one of the most valuable gifts that Mother Earth gives us. Not better way to enjoy their taste than to cook risotto with porcini mushrooms. Its creamy enveloping taste will not only pamper the family on weekdays, but will also be a great addition to the festive table.

Ingredients for mushroom risotto:

Round-grain rice - 320 g;
White mushrooms - 400 g;
Vegetable broth - 1 l;
Small onion - 1 pc.;
Garlic - 1 clove;
Butter - 30 g (+30 g for serving);
Olive oil - 2 tbsp. spoons;
Salt and black ground pepper taste;
Hard cheese - 50 g;
Chopped parsley - 2 tbsp. spoons.

In the absence of porcini mushrooms, they are replaced by any available options. But it is worth remembering that only the “kings of the forest kingdom” will give the dish a bright mushroom aroma and a unique velvety taste.

First of all, we prepare vegetable broth. In about 2 liters of water, boil coarsely chopped carrots, onions, celery for 1 hour (you can add a tomato, pepper in a pot). Strain and season with salt to taste.

After preparing the broth, we are engaged in porcini mushrooms. We remove the remnants of the earth, if any, and wipe with a damp cloth. We wash a very soiled fungus under running water and collect moisture with a dry towel. Next, cut the mushrooms lengthwise into slices 7-8 mm thick.

We heat up olive oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the crushed garlic clove. Then turn up the heat and add the mushrooms. Fry for 10 minutes until golden brown, salt and pepper. Mushrooms prepared in this way will crunch nicely in the main dish.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion. Melt the butter in a saucepan and send the onion there. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes, if necessary, add a spoonful of broth. When the onion softens, pour the rice and fry for a couple of minutes.

Pour the grits completely covered with an oily shell with a ladle of broth and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. In process of absorption we enter a small amount of liquid. We make sure that small boiling bubbles are constant. When the rice is almost ready, as the Italians say "al dente", add the mushrooms and wait another 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat and add salt to taste.

At the end, season the risotto with grated cheese and the remaining butter, mix well. Garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Mushroom risotto is best eaten fresh. You can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

With seafood

Risotto with seafood - a classic dish Italian cuisine great for warming up on cold days. At first glance, the recipe may seem rather complicated. In fact, it does not require special culinary skills. You just need to carefully choose seafood. In our version, we took mussels, oysters, shrimp and squid. But the types of seafood can vary according to your taste.

Required Ingredients:

Round-grain rice - 320 g;
Mussels in shell - 1 kg;
Oysters - 1 kg;
Peeled squids - 400 g;
Shrimp - 350 g;
Parsley - 1 bunch;
Garlic - 2 cloves;
Dry white wine - 200 ml;
Fish broth - 0.5 l;
Olive oil - 80 ml;
Onion - 1 pc.;
Celery - 1 pc.;
Carrots - 1 pc.;
Chili pepper - 1 pc.;
Salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Seafood preparation consists of several stages:

Wash the peeled squids under running water and cut into rings.
Separate shrimp from shells.
We wash the mussels under the tap, and soak the oysters overnight in water. Cook the first and second in different pots over high heat for 1-2 minutes until their shells open. We filter the broths into one container, and clean the clams and set aside until use.

When the preparation is completed, we proceed to the main process. Grind carrots, celery, garlic and chili peppers and fry in 40 ml of olive oil. Add squid and pour in 100 ml of white wine. Simmer until soft.

At this time, in another pan, fry the chopped onion in the remaining oil over low heat. When the onion becomes transparent, add rice and mix thoroughly for 3-5 minutes. We introduce 100 ml of white wine. As soon as the wine is absorbed, we begin to gradually add the broth from the shellfish and leave to cook.

We add soft squids with shrimp and finely chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes. If necessary, add a couple of ladles of broth.

When the rice is almost ready, combine it with a mixture of squid and shrimp, mussels and oysters. Mix thoroughly, season with salt and pepper and turn off the heat. Leave the dish to "rest" for a few minutes under the lid. To serve, decorate the seafood risotto with fresh parsley.

With chicken

Today chicken meat is the most demanded product in its category. Therefore, dishes with it are incredibly popular. We present to your attention a simple recipe for risotto with crispy chicken.

For its preparation you will need:

Round grain rice - 300 g;
Chicken breasts - 400 g;
Vegetable broth - 1 l;
Butter - 30 g;
Hard cheese - 40 g;
Olive oil - 60 g;
Paprika - 10 g;
Black olives - 40 g;
Salt to taste.

In a saucepan, fry the rice in olive oil. When the cereal is completely covered with an oily film, season it with a pinch of salt. Pour in the vegetable broth to completely cover the rice. During cooking, add liquid as needed.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the chicken breast. We cut it into cubes with a side of about 2 cm. Fry in olive oil over high heat for a couple of minutes. We complete the treatment with a six-minute exposure in the oven at 200 degrees.

When the rice is ready, add butter and grated hard cheese to it. Mix thoroughly for about a minute.

To serve, sprinkle hot risotto with paprika, lay out chicken pieces and black olives cut in half. Paprika can be replaced with saffron if desired.

With vegetables

Risotto with vegetables is a healthy and nutritious, but at the same time very bright dish. It is simple and quick to prepare. Ideal in summer. Vegetarians will also appreciate it.

Required components:

Round-grain rice - 320 g;
Carrots - 100 g;
Yellow bell pepper(peeled) - 50 g;
Red bell pepper - 50 g;
Eggplant - 100 g;
Zucchini - 100 g;
Green peas - 50 g;
Cherry tomatoes - 150 g;
Celery - 1 pc.;
Onion - 1 pc.;
Butter - 20 g;
Olive oil - 180 ml;
Vegetable broth - 1 l;
Chopped parsley - 2 tbsp. spoons;
Hard cheese (grated) - 4 tbsp. spoons;
White wine - 40 ml;
Sugar - 1 tbsp. a spoon;
Salt and black pepper to taste.

All risotto vegetables should be fresh, not frozen. The only exception is peas. This dish you can do with any vegetables in season, focusing on your preferences.

First of all, wash and chop vegetables (except onions). It is necessary that everything be cut into small cubes of the same size (with a side of no more than 1 cm). Cut cherry tomatoes in half and add a tablespoon of sugar. This will help them lose excess acidity.

We pass the chopped half of the onion in a saucepan on a mixture of oils (creamy 10 g and 3 tablespoons of olive oil) over very low heat. So that it does not burn, add a little broth. When the onion becomes transparent (after about 15 minutes), we send chopped zucchini, eggplant, half a carrot, peas and bell pepper to it. Salt, pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Vegetables should be soft, but not sour.

In another pan, saute the remaining onion, celery and carrots in olive oil for 10 minutes. Then add rice and fry for a couple more minutes. Pour in white wine. When it evaporates, add a ladle of broth and cook, stirring occasionally.

After absorbing the liquid, we send ready-made vegetables to the rice, salt and pepper. Pour in the broth again in portions and cook until the cereal is fully cooked. Mix everything with cherry tomatoes and turn off the fire.

Top the still hot risotto with butter, grated cheese and parsley. Mix everything thoroughly and serve.

Calorie content and benefits

For example, the nutritional value 100 g classic dish is approximately 350 kcal and consists of:

Proteins - 14 g;
Fats - 13 g;
Carbohydrates - 44 g.

This amount of fat is about 40% of the recommended daily allowance for a healthy person. In order to reduce the lipid content, it is necessary to reduce the proportions of fatty components (butter, cheese, cream).

Despite the calorie content, a medium-sized serving of risotto contains many valuable nutrients, especially if the dish is cooked with vegetables or seafood. The latter are distinguished by a large percentage of the necessary proteins and the presence of Omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation in the body and improve the condition of the cardiovascular system.

Increasing the mass of dietary fiber (vegetables) when using less round grain rice.
Replacing part of the cereal with wild or brown rice, as well as cheese - fat-free cottage cheese, meat broth- vegetable.
Use of fresh vegetables when serving meals. An excellent companion for risotto is leaf lettuce.
Reducing the amount of food eaten.

If you follow these simple tips, then national dish Italy can become traditional healthy dish on your table.

A small article about the giant of Italian cuisine has come to its logical conclusion. Cook with diligence, dare under any circumstances, do not be afraid to fantasize and remember: "The way to the heart of an Italian man lies through a well-prepared risotto!"

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Risotto is prepared for a very short time - 25-30 minutes, but at the same time it requires close attention. In order for everything to work out correctly, it will not work to dodge the stove during the cooking process - you need to constantly look into the pan, monitor the amount of liquid and gently stir the contents. If you are not lazy, you can enjoy great taste real Italian risotto!

In the Middle Ages in Italy, they began to cook the famous Italian dish risotto. Its main component is rice. Varieties were grown round - and medium - grain, they did not require a large number water.

"If you want to know the secret of real risotto, first remember the spell: arborio, vialone nano, carnaroli" - strongly recommended Italian chefs. The advice, I must say, is extremely useful: after all, all these unfamiliar words are the names of medium-grain varieties of rice, which, during cooking, acquire a velvety structure and a delicate creamy taste.

The most common variety is the arborio variety. It is these grains that are needed for risotto. His name comes from the name of one of the cities in the province of Vercelli in the northwest of the country. In the wide translucent grain of arborio rice, you can see the opaque core of the grain. When cooked, this rice takes on a creamy appearance and absorbs the taste and aroma of other ingredients of the dish. Arborio rice is very soft and easy to digest, so experts recommend removing the dish from the heat until the rice is fully cooked - then the rice will cook itself in a few minutes, but the grains will retain their shape.

Risotto is prepared with seafood, vegetables, hot pepper, meat, often chicken, with herbs, ham, mushrooms. The dish is seasoned with basil, saffron, parmesan and served with dry wine, which is also added to risotto.

To cook delicious risotto, you do not have to be Italian, it is important to know a few rules.

First- proper frying of rice in oil, second- gradual addition of liquid and wine, and third- constant stirring with a veil, as well as compliance with all cooking technologies.

Basic risotto recipe (classic)

Ingredients:

chicken breast or beef on the bone (for broth) 700 g (broth for this recipe should be prepared a little more than a liter)
1.5 cups arborio rice
2-3 tbsp. l. olive oil
1 thin glass of dry white wine
3-4 st. l. 10% cream
1 onion (large)
Parmeggiano cheese 70 g
salt, white ground pepper
1-2 tsp lemon juice

Cooking method:

Boil the broth, strain, leave on the stove. While the broth is warm, start preparing the risotto.
In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil, fry the chopped onion in it until transparent, add the rice. Mixing well, fry for 2 minutes.

When the rice has absorbed the wine, add some broth and lemon juice. Interfere. Then add the broth in parts: soaked into rice, add, soaked - add, and so on for 15 minutes.

Turn off the stove, let the risotto stand for 3 minutes on a warm stove (for the grains to fully ripen), add cream, sprinkle with parmegiano, put on a plate and serve after a minute.

As additional ingredients seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs are used.

So, for cooking:

fish risotto and seafood we need a broth made from fish. Fish, shrimps and mussels are added 10 minutes before the rice is ready.
vegetable risotto (zucchini, broccoli). Zucchini is cut into cubes, broccoli is divided into small inflorescences. Vegetables are fried in oil and added at the very end, 3-4 minutes before readiness.
mushroom risotto the same thing, mushrooms (more often mushrooms, but champignons can be used) are fried in oil and added at the end.
green risotto (parsley, basil) . Parsley is chopped and added along with cheese and basil.
pink risotto (with tomatoes). At the end, diced tomatoes are added and sprinkled with basil. Also added finely chopped Bell pepper(different colors).
chicken risotto you can use boiled meat (from the broth), but it’s best to add fried separately in butter to risotto chicken breast. It should be added in the middle of the cooking process.

There are hundreds of risotto recipes, some of them are simple and incredibly complex. But learning how to cook risotto is better on the example of the simplest and most classic recipe.

So we are preparing Milanese risotto.

We will need broth, rice, cheese, dry white wine, butter, onions and natural saffron.

Bouillon first

Risotto is ready in 17 minutes. No more and no less, you can check the clock. But this is the case if you have prepared everything else in advance, especially the broth - it takes time, calmness and very high quality ingredients to prepare it.

The idea of the broth underlies the regular cuisine, any French, Italian or Russian - decent cabbage soup cannot be made without a decent broth.

stock for risotto

The best risotto broth is chicken. It should be cooked in a large saucepan and preferably from a special, soup chicken. you also need good drinking water and a minimum set of vegetables and seasonings - onions and carrots, black peppercorns, a pinch of salt. To this you can add stalked celery, parsley root, green part of leeks, fresh green pea in pods white pepper peas, juniper, stripe lemon peel. During the preparation of the broth, you can also pour in a little dry white wine. And, of course, a bouquet of garni, composed according to the season. The preparation of the broth takes at least 2 hours, so it makes sense to prepare it for the future and store it in the freezer in bags for freezing ice.

Which chicken to choose
Soup chicken is sold in any decent market. If you decide to fry or stew it, then make sure that the finished meat is unsuitable. But the broth from such a bird is what you need. During the cooking time, the soup chicken gives all the best and is no longer suitable for anything. If you want to save money without losing quality, cook the remaining 3-4 chicken remains after cutting off the attractive parts.

Water for risotto is important. Actually, she is the broth. Do not waste time on trifles and buy a canister of good drinking water.

Salt. It must be added very little, the broth must remain generally unsalted, otherwise the dish will be difficult to properly salt. Sea salt is better to take, it is tastier than usual.

Bouquet garni- just sprigs of seasonal spicy greenery tied with cotton thread in a bay leaf. The thread can be tied to the handle of the pan, and at the right time, removed in one motion.

The simplest, "small" bouquet of garni - 3 sprigs of parsley, 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 sprig of celery greens and 1 bay leaf. For seafood risotto, you can add a sprig of dill, and for chicken risotto, 3-4 leaves of tarragon.

Vegetables and roots. Should be clean and not sluggish.

How to cook stock for risotto?

Wash the chicken thoroughly, cut into pieces, put in a saucepan and pour cold water with a pinch of salt. Chicken carcasses can be placed in a very hot oven for 5 minutes, and then folded into a saucepan and poured with water. The resulting broth will have a richer taste and a golden color. Lightly crush the peppercorns with the flat of a knife blade. Cut carrots and onions in half and put in a dry frying pan heated over medium heat. Cook until burns appear. Put the pot on high heat. As soon as it boils and foam appears, reduce the heat and carefully remove the foam with a slotted spoon. When foaming stops, add vegetables and spices to the pan. Cover and cook with light gurgling for about 2 hours. 30 min. until ready to pour in dry wine, if using, lower the bouquet garni into the broth in the last three minutes. Remove when broth is ready. Strain the finished broth through a sieve, pour into a clean saucepan and cool. Put in the cold for 1 hour, carefully remove the frozen fat.

Rice for risotto

Rice for risotto not everyone is suitable, but only three varieties: arborio, carnaroli and vialone nano. In addition to the fact that the varieties are Italian, they have one more thing in common - they contain two types of starch. The one on the surface of the rice grain is called "amylopectin" and the one inside is called "amylose". Amylopectin is mild and mixes quickly with water to create a creamy and fluid texture. Amylose allows you to cook rice to the state of "al dente", which literally means "by the tooth" - this is when a perfectly cooked rice grain remains a little firm in the very center. God forbid you wash such rice!!!

When buying rice for risotto, pay attention to the packaging and the number of cracked and split grains. Reputable manufacturers often even pack under vacuum in a double layer of polyethylene; the result is a kind of brick, resistant to most blows of fate. Italians sometimes label rice simply as "rice for risotto", without specifying the variety - with a 90% chance there will be arborio inside the pack. In addition to these, there are many varieties of rice in the world suitable for making risotto.

Cheese for risotto

Cheese for risotto you need a little, but it should be good.

The main requirement is that the cheese must belong to a small family of grana cheeses. There are only three such cheeses: Parmigiano Reggiano, also called Parmesan, Grana Padano and the very rare Trentingrana. But experiments are also possible. At the same time, it is important to remember that risotto is primarily a dish of rice, and cheese should only accompany its taste, and not conduct it. Italians in risotto with seafood or fish, as a rule, do not use cheese.

Wine for risotto

To prepare a large risotto pan, you need about half a glass of dry white wine. There are, in fact, two requirements for it - it must be dry and inexpensive.

Butter for risotto

Good creamy oil for risotto no less important than cheese. Because it is what turns the creamy texture of risotto from a figure of speech into reality. Risotto is a dish of the Italian North, where there have never been olive trees. Only cows.

Onions for risotto

Use white or yellow onions for risotto. Do not be too frugal - the base of the onion must be cut ruthlessly, so that only juicy onion pulp gets into the risotto. It should be cut very, very, very finely, because there is nothing worse than a ridiculously large piece of onion, in the delicate texture of this dish.

Saffron for risotto

One of the most expensive spices in the world, 1 gram costs more than 10 dollars. You should buy saffron, packed in a factory way, preferably not ground. The idea of going to the nearest market and buying half a glass of saffron is a bad idea, believe me. One gram is enough for 40 servings of risotto. Take a couple of pinches of saffron, put it in a glass and pour hot broth over it. Leave on for half an hour. The resulting orange infusion is exactly what you need.

How to cook risotto

First, put a pot of broth on a gentle fire so that it boils slightly.

The first stage - preparing the soffritto - bases for rice and everything else. You heat oil in a frying pan, add onions - as well as other vegetables used - and fry the whole thing over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent, but by no means fried. Remember, it should lose color, not change it.

The second stage is called "tostatura". You pour the rice into the pan in one quick swirl, stir it in with the onion and oil, and cook for about 30 seconds. Ideally, all the rice should be soaked in oil so that the outside of the rice darkens, but the core remains white. When this happens, pour in the wine, stir, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the smell of alcohol is gone - or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

The third stage - adding the broth to the risotto. Once the rice has absorbed the wine, start adding the hot broth. Take a ladle, scoop up the broth and pour it in a quick circular motion into the pan with the rice. Take a large, preferably wooden spoon or spatula and mix the broth with the rice with it. Repeat mixing after thirty seconds. Repeat in the same vein until almost all the liquid is absorbed into the rice. Pour in a ladle of broth again and start stirring again. As a result of this constant stirring of rice with boiling broth, the outer starch is separated from the rice grains.

When the rice is about half done, and about half of the broth is also left, add the main, title ingredient to the risotto. In the case of Milanese risotto - just the same glass of broth with saffron. Then continue adding broth and stirring. In other recipes, it can be mushrooms, seafood, and more. After 17 minutes of stirring and adding, remove the pan from the heat and leave it perfectly still for exactly 1 minute. After this, it will be time for the last stage, called "mantecature" when cold and diced butter and cheese grated on a fine grater are added to the risotto, and the entire resulting mass is quickly mixed until completely homogeneous. Then the risotto is laid out on warm plates and instantly served to the table.

Unanswered questions

Two questions remain unanswered: What is the correct ratio of rice to broth? When should risotto be seasoned?

Here are the answers to them.

The perfect ratio of rice and broth- for every 100 grams of rice, you need to take 500 ml of broth. It should also be borne in mind that it is best to prepare risotto with 400 grams of rice and 2 liters of broth, which makes 4 large portions or 6 small ones; this amount is just enough for a large frying pan. Almost impossible to make 1 serving of risotto (you'll have to chase the rice around the pan, which will burn every minute) and very difficult - 10 servings at a time (in this case, cooking will be more like rowing). If you need to cook more than 4 servings of risotto, just take another pan.

Season the risotto with salt and pepper First of all, you need to be very careful, since the cheese used in cooking already contains a significant amount of salt, which, in principle, may be quite enough - for example, if the cheese is very aged. However, once the mantecature of the risotto is complete, it is a must try - if it seems to you that you need to add salt and pepper, add them, quickly stir again and serve the risotto to the table.

And who would have thought that it is so difficult to cook it well. The name is translated into Russian as "rice". Indeed, the basis of the dish is the right rice. The best varieties: Vialone Nano, Carnarolli and Arborio. They are distinguished by a high content of starch and the ability to keep their shape well. Such "risinki" will ideally contain aromas and convey the amazing harmony of all ingredients. Another secret is in the components tab. Rice should consistently and completely absorb all liquids: olive oil, wine, broth. But, at the same time, remain "al dente" - with a noticeably hard core.

The five most commonly used ingredients in recipes are:

It is important to remember that risotto is capricious and does not forgive inattention. It must be constantly stirred, not for a minute leaving the stove. Do not cover the dish with a lid. In no case should you miss the moment when cooking must be completed, while gourmet dish did not turn into a banal mess. The beauty of real risotto is that you can add almost anything to it: different kinds meat, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms. And each option will be a table decoration and a gastronomic feast.