Risotto: Love at First Bite

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

My love affair with risotto began as a teenager. And I dare say it was love at first bite. It is hard to pin down any single feature that did me in; rather it was the divine combination of the whole. Short, plump grains of rice surrounded by an opaque, starchy sauce of their own creation mounded high on an earthen dish. Aromas of toast, onion, and wine titillated my olfactory glands luring me in for the first taste.

In the mouth the slightly chewy grains of rice with their unctuous binding reminded me more of sauced pasta cooked al dente than any rice dish I had eaten. The flavors of wine and toasted grain bound by just the right amount of salty Parmigiano-Reggiano formed a union deep enough to be complex while still retaining the individual notes of taste. It was a dish perfect in itself and exciting in its possibilities.

As I grew older and my time for cooking became more compressed, I still managed to make risotto on a regular basis. I did it for relaxation: the half hour spent caring for a dish of slowly cooking rice had certain Zen-like qualities. I did it for the versatility: once I had mastered the art of a basic risotto, the options for modification were endless. I did it for the sake of frugality: rice is fairly cheap, and if I could make it stretch through a couple of meals, then for a poor student, this dish was a winner! I did it because it was quick: although it took some devotion to stirring, total cooking time was nominal and the rice was in fact at its best and ready to eat the moment it was finished. At the end of the day, risotto was the perfect 30 minute meal.

Risotto originated in Northern Italy and is to that region what pasta is to the South. It is made with short grain rice cooked in an open pot over a medium flame with the gradual addition of liquid, usually stock, stirred frequently until the grain is soft but chewy and a starchy sauce has formed. There are three basic types of high-starch rice used for risottos: Arborio, Carnaroli, and Vialone nano, although Arborio is most widely used and most easily found at the supermarket.

For a basic risotto, we begin by sweating chopped onion in oil until soft then adding the rice to absorb the excess oil, sautéing until lightly toasted. At this point, if using, wine is added and cooked until almost absorbed. The heat is turned down and we begin adding hot stock a little at a time, adding more once the last batch is absorbed.

It is important to keep the rice well hydrated for to neglect that detail may result in a sticky final product devoid of the luscious natural sauce (A professor of mine once reprimanded me on my too-sticky risotto, admonishing me for not adding enough liquid during cooking. He told me to always keep enough liquid around the rice that the final dish should almost have to be eaten with a spoon). The rice receives a quick shower of Parmigiano-Reggiano and either a pat of butter or a splash of cream at the end along with salt and pepper to taste.

Risotto is generally loved by all. It is often the default vegetarian course at restaurants where vegetable stock is swapped for chicken and additional ingredients are limited to vegetables. But it is also a dish enjoyed by carnivores, either with the addition of meat and seafood to the rice itself, or as an accompaniment to a meat course such as with its classic coupling with the supremely rich osso bucco.

For me, risotto has been a wonderland for my culinary imagination. Shrimp, saffron and fish stock make for a simpler paella. A puree of roasted red peppers added just before the rice finishes cooking is brilliant when the peppers are at their sweetest. The resulting dish is as vibrantly colored as it is flavored.

Like any of life's great loves, the novelty of the dish may have come and gone for me, but for others out there it is a love still worth discovering. As time has passed so has my love evolved, in as many ways as I can dream. So my risotto never ceases to delight me.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/3 cup arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 pound prosciutto, sliced in half inch strips
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter or cream
• salt and pepper, to taste