Basic Risotto
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
40 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a first course
Ingredients
Before You Begin
When the rice is done, stir in a little extra liquid as the sauce will set up a bit when served. If you have it on hand, use 5 cups of homemade chicken broth (at room temperature) instead of the water/canned broth combination.
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy pot, 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Add onions and ham; sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt or to taste. Add 3 cups of the broth/water mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pan bottom is dry when rice is pulled back with spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add wine, stirring frequently until absorbed. Then add 1/2 cup of the broth/water mixture at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed; cook until rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in center (add more water in 1/2 cup increments if broth/water mixture runs out), 10 to 12 minutes longer.
- Stir in cheese. Serve on a wide platter or individual plates with additional cheese passed separately.
Time
40 minutesYield
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a first courseIngredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
After extensive testing, we learned that traditional risotto recipes are not sacred and can be simplified. For example, while Arborio is the preferred rice, other japonica-type varieties, such as Japanese short-grain rice and California-grown medium-grain rice, can be used in a risotto recipe. Also, the traditional method calls for hot liquid to be added to the rice about half a cup at a time. This requires constant stirring to keep the fairly dry rice from scorching. To save work, we found that we prefer a deluge-then-stir method that starts out with a lot of liquid. When the pot dries out, the remaining liquid is added in small increments.
Before You Begin
When the rice is done, stir in a little extra liquid as the sauce will set up a bit when served. If you have it on hand, use 5 cups of homemade chicken broth (at room temperature) instead of the water/canned broth combination.
Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy pot, 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Add onions and ham; sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt or to taste. Add 3 cups of the broth/water mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pan bottom is dry when rice is pulled back with spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add wine, stirring frequently until absorbed. Then add 1/2 cup of the broth/water mixture at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed; cook until rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in center (add more water in 1/2 cup increments if broth/water mixture runs out), 10 to 12 minutes longer.
- Stir in cheese. Serve on a wide platter or individual plates with additional cheese passed separately.
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