Ina Garten | No Stir Easy Parmesan Risotto - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

What is Gordon Ramsay's recipe for risotto? ›

Risotto is best the moment it's ready, but you can make it ahead to a point. Reserve 2–3 cups of the salted water, cool the undercooked risotto, and store both in the refrigerator for up to three days. To finish, warm the risotto over medium-low, bring the water to a simmer, and continue with the recipe as written.

Recipe Tips

Pecorino Romano is a sheep milk cheese and is traditional for this dish. You can substitute Parmesan cheese for a milder flavor. Al dente is when the rice grains are still a bit firm and chewy.

Stirring the rice constantly will add air into the risotto, cooling it down and making it gluey. But if you don't stir enough, the rice will stick to the bottom and burn. Agitating the rice is important, because risotto's creaminess comes from the starch generated when grains of rice rub against each other.

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels.

Never wash your rice beforehand as this removes the starch, which is what helps give risotto its smooth texture. Cook your risotto on a low, simmering heat and add the stock gradually, one ladle at a time. This gives the rice time to fully absorb the liquid and flavours. Rushing your risotto will only ruin its texture.

Mario Batali said that risotto isn't finicky in the middle - so you can cook it part way, cool it down (I think he said he spread it on sheet pans to cool quickly), then you can add hot stock and cook it from that point, so you've already got a 10 minute head start.

Because risotto is cooked uncovered on the stovetop, a lot of liquid evaporates. Plan on about three times as much liquid as rice. And that liquid should be stock of some sort. Chicken stock is the staple, but use whatever stock you prefer — beef, vegetable, seafood.

Finding the right vessel for your risotto is very important. It not only needs to be deep enough to hold the liquid but also wide enough for effective stirring. A saucepan would be fine but we like our Saucier—the French inspired piece is a cross between a saucepan and sauté pan.

What is the best rice for risotto? ›

Arborio is the most popular short-grain rice for making risotto. It is capable of absorbing large amounts of liquid and produces a relatively creamy risotto with a hearty texture. Carnaroli is a plumper, larger grain of rice that has a high starch content.

The aging period for Pecorino Romano is much shorter than Parmigiano-Reggiano at around five to eight months. Like Parmigiano, Romano is a hard cheese. But Pecorino Romano is white in color and has a slightly saltier and much stronger, more piquant flavor.

The problem comes when rice is left to cool slowly and the bacteria go into overdrive, specifically between the temperatures of 28ºC and 35ºC. The longer the rice remains left out of temperature control once cooked and is not adequately cooled and refrigerated, the greater the risk.

Risotto contains carbohydrates, which are necessary to fuel the body. But, some recipes are high in saturated fat because of the cheese and butter that is used to prepare the dish. Risotto can also be high in sodium.

“The hole in the middle of the spoon allows some of the rice to pass through, making for a smoother stir that's gentler on the grains and results in fewer broken kernels,” she says, adding that too many broken kernels can ruin a risotto. Gorline agrees: “If the rice shatters, it can create an over-starched mess!”.

"Boil salted water, throw in the rice, boil it for nine minutes, strain it and throw it on a sheet pan. It's 90% cooked, so all you're doing is just picking it up. Once it's blanched, I can make risotto, from beginning to end, in three minutes."

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