by Joyce Rosencrans
Scripps Howard News Service
There are worse places to find oneself on a winter evening than hovered over a steaming pot of savory broth, arborio rice and seasonings.
Keep on stirring; breathe deeply; let your hands and face warm from the rising steam. Your efforts will soon result in an authentic risotto, creamy comfort food of the Italian sort.
There are no shortcuts. You'll be on your feet in front of the range or surface burners for at least 40 minutes.
This may sound like some sort of Olympian struggle to get a decent dish on the table, but the flavor payoff is high. The constant stirring is absolutely necessary. Stirring can be fun and quite satisfying to the culinary soul. Watch any little kid in the kitchen. They'll ask to stir something. They know it's like magic to watch a bunch of unrelated ingredients come together in a uniformly smooth and creamy blend.
That's risotto. It's a super celebration of the arborio rice crop, which may be imported from Italy or grown domestically. In a pinch, substitute medium-grain rice. Never use converted rice or any sort of precooked stuff. It has to be regular rice and, please, no rinsing. Rinsing removes starch, which is what gives risotto its wonderful creamy consistency.
The rumor from ritzy Italian restaurants is that a good risotto is somewhat tricky to master. But Kimberly Park of the USA Rice Federation says, "If you can stir, you can cook risotto--it's that easy."
I recall having a really great asparagus and prosciutto version of risotto with two cheeses, Asiago and Parmesan, at an Italian restaurant in Fashion Island, Newport Beach, Calif. It was the mid-'80s, and American interest in risotto was beginning to stir. The same trip reaped another great wild-mushroom risotto at Rex, the primo Italian restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at that time.
Rex was called by another name in the Richard Gere/Julia Roberts movie, Pretty Woman. As you'll recall, the couple's first "date" with his business clients was at a fancy restaurant where she struggled to eat snails for the first time. She flipped one of the shells with the tongs, and a waiter caught it, saying graciously, "That happens all the time."
That scene was filmed at Rex, and now I have forgotten how I ever knew that, but I can still recognize former Rex decor and its balcony railing in rented-video reruns. It was an impressive place, and I'm sorry it's gone. However, Rex and the fine Italian food in Newport Beach inspired me to come home, buy a couple pounds of imported arborio rice and learn to stir up a risotto myself.
That's how I know it's easy; nailed it the first time. There's no learning curve if you're patient, keep on stirring and follow directions.
Restaurants have since adopted risotto in many guises. You'll see it on menus as an appetizer, first course, entree, side dish, or even as dessert, perhaps with berries and mascarpone cheese.
The USA Rice Federation conducted a survey among 400 culinary professionals and they overwhelmingly chose risotto as their favorite rice recipe. Think of it as a savory rice pudding; a good risotto can be that creamy in texture without any cream in it.
Risotto is perfect for a weekday supper or a relaxing dinner with friends. It's rich, filling, elegant, never fussy. Here are some pointers for getting past "risottophobia." The tips are courtesy of the USA Rice Federation:
- Risotto is best when made with rice that has a high level of amylopectin starch, such as arborio or medium-grain rice. The starch in these grains absorbs flavors easily and takes on a creamy texture when properly cooked. It's worth it to pay a little more for arborio.
- Choose a heavy pan to help distribute heat evenly. Make sure it's large enough to hold the cooked rice because rice will expand to about three times its original volume.
- Rice used in risotto should never be rinsed. Rinsing removes starch, which gives risotto its creamy consistency.
- Sauteing rice in butter or oil creates a shell around each grain, allowing the grain to slowly absorb moisture. This will result in creamy risotto, where each grain maintains its own shape.
- If you plan to add wine to your risotto, do so before adding the broth. This helps burn off some of the alcohol, leaving mostly the wine's more subtle flavor. A simple, dry wine works best.
- Use homemade stock for the absolute best risotto. During cooking, the broth or stock will reduce, intensifying its flavors and those of any added seasonings, especially salt. Improve canned broth flavor quite a bit by simmering 30 minutes with onion, celery, carrot, parsley and garlic. Strain before adding to risotto.
- Broth should be at a simmer when adding to the rice periodically between stirring sessions. By heating the broth in a separate pan, it keeps the risotto's temperature more constant. This ensures even, continuous cooking and serves as the melding agent, releasing the rice's starch and making it creamy.
- Broth should be added one cup at a time, allowing time for the broth to be fully absorbed before adding more. It's the gradual addition of broth and slow cooking that helps produce the creamy result unique to risotto.
- Risotto should continue to simmer during cooking. Adjust heat if necessary. If heat is too high or too low, the broth will either evaporate or will not be absorbed by the rice.
- Stir often, if not continuously. Stirring keeps the grains in contact with the simmering liquid being added periodically. This even, constant cooking and stirring prevents the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and dislodges surface starch from the rice into the liquid, causing it to thicken.
- Quick-cooking additions, such as shrimp or matchstick zucchini, should be added at the end. This goes for shredded cheese, too.
- Risotto is done when the rice is al dente--creamy, yet firm in the center. Never allow rice to dry out when making risotto. For a creamy texture, the rice should always--from start to finish--be kept under a "veil" of simmering broth.
Tangy Tomato Risotto
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 finely chopped shallots
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped green olives, rinsed
2 tsp. grated or finely shredded lemon peel
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Preparation:
Heat broth in a two-quart saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and keep simmering. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft. Add rice and stir for two to three minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high; stir in one cup of the simmering broth. Cook rice uncovered, stirring frequently, until broth is absorbed.
Continue stirring and adding remaining broth, one cup at a time, allowing each cupful to be absorbed by the rice before adding another. Cook and stir until rice is tender (al dente) and mixture has a creamy consistency, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Do not try to rush this process.
Stir in the halved grape tomatoes, olives, lemon peel and lemon juice. Serve hot. Risotto does not remain creamy after it cools off, and it will not return to the desired creamy consistency if reheated. Eat it all up at one sitting, and enjoy.
Nutrition: 1/6 of recipe has 172 calories, 4 g protein, 4 g fat, 1g dietary fiber, 0 mg cholesterol and 671mg sodium, depending on saltiness of chicken broth.
Yield: 6 servings
(Contact Joyce Rosencrans of The Cincinnati Post at www.cincypost.com.)
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