How to make the perfect Risotto Rice! Mushroom, garlic, havarti Risotto + more
I am giving this side it’s own page, so I can just link to it every time I have risotto on the menu. A lot of people believe risotto is hard to get just right. I have the process down to a science… it’s really not that difficult, but it does take at least an hour. The good thing is you can just let it simmer while you are making the main dish. I like to mix up the cheeses and vegetables I put in my risotto. My most common is using a bleu or Gorgonzola cheese and adding spinach. For this first risotto posting, I used mushrooms and Havarti cheese.
I like to use a whiskey sized cocktail cup to measure a scoop of rice. This usually makes enough for 4 people. It is probably a cup and a half. Add two parts water or chicken broth to your one part rice. I usually add more throughout the process. You add until it’s perfect, but the two parts to one is a good starting point and will last 45 minutes. I know most risotto recipes say to add a ladle full of hot broth to the rice one at a time as needed. You can do this if you want to constantly stir for an hour. I am taking a short cut, and I’ve had great results. I do both, but this is more sensible.
Chop half an onion and mince a couple of cloves of garlic. Saute them in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil or butter. I added mushrooms in this step because they take longer to get soft. If I’m using spinach or something, I’ll add towards the end.
After about 15 minutes of caramelizing, add the Italian rice directly to the pot, with no liquid. Constantly stir for 5 minutes.
Add about a cup of room-temperature white wine to the hard rice. May I recommend the 2.99 Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck (better than most $10 dollar bottles! Great for cooking) DO NOT add cold wine, as it will shock the rice and make it have a hard outside.
Add one ladle full at a time of chicken broth or water, or add two parts all at this time. The chicken broth provides more flavor, but with the onions, garlic, and spices… you will still have an extremely tasty risotto if you use water. I like to to use both.
Never cover!
Stir once in a while when there’s lots of liquid, and quite often when there isn’t much. When it is mostly absorbed, taste it. If it has any crunchiness, add another half cup of broth. You would think cream was added, but it naturally gets creamy because of the starch. You want it to be soft and creamy, but not gooey. It still has to have a little give in the grain, some firmness. So taste until you think it is almost at that point. I add very little cheese at this point, just to get the flavor, not for the cheesiness. Now would be the time to add things like spinach as well. Top with a little chopped parsley.
The time you put into it is worth it! Tastiest stuff in the world. I love it with every bite of my food. In the pic shown: Tuna and kale.
Enjoy!
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