Cooking rice in Italian: the most delicious recipes for classic risotto! Just like in Italy: chef Ignazio Rossa shows how to prepare the right risotto at home. Risotto with broccoli, pumpkin and ham.
The homeland of risotto is Northern Italy, but the entire world in love with Italian cuisine treats itself to this dish for lunch or dinner.
Making risotto is easy if you follow a few rules. First, it is better to take Arborio, Vialone Nano or Carnaroli rice varieties. This rice turns out tender, but, like pasta, it retains its “hardness” - that same “al dente” state, or incomplete readiness. Second, the rice for risotto needs to be fried in olive or butter until transparent. Third, the rice is poured with white wine (the grain will absorb the wine, and the remainder should be evaporated).
Risottos with vegetables and parmesan is ready.
Bon appetit!
Risotto with smoked salmon and champagne
Recipe for risotto with smoked salmon, champagne and lemon zest.
What do you need:
- 350 g arborio rice
- 1 liter vegetable or fish broth
- 250 g smoked salmon
- 1/2 glass of champagne
- 50 g butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
How to make risotto with smoked salmon and champagne:
Fry the rice in butter until translucent, pour in the hot broth, about one and a half times the height of the rice.
Stir, cover and leave to simmer for 15 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
In a frying pan with a thick bottom and high walls, saute the chopped onion in a mixture of butter and olive oil.
Add the cereal, fry for 2 minutes, then add salt and pour in the broth.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring, for about 15 minutes until tender.
Serve generously sprinkled with chopped dill.
Buckwheat risotto is ready.
Bon appetit!
Risotto pie with parmesan and herbs
Recipe for risotto pie with cheese, leeks, zest and fresh herbs.
What do you need:
- 225 g arborio rice
- 100 g grated parmesan
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 150 g leek
- 30 g chopped green onions
- 2 tbsp. tablespoons chopped parsley
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 10 g butter
- Salt, ground black pepper to taste
How to make risotto pie with parmesan and herbs:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease a baking dish (about 21cm in diameter) with butter.
Cut the leeks into thin rings, place in a saucepan with a thick bottom and a tight-fitting lid, pour 3 tbsp. spoons of chicken broth. Sauté the onion for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly, until soft.
Pour the rice into the pan, stirring, pour in the remaining chicken broth and stir again.
Bring the pot of risotto to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring until the rice has absorbed all the broth.
Add zest, chopped herbs, grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste to the risotto, stir.
Cut half the strawberries into pieces. Stir granulated sugar in 1/4 cup of water, pour into a saucepan and add chopped strawberries.
Boil the berries in the syrup for 30 minutes over low heat.
Let the rice and strawberry syrup cool. Cut the remaining berries into pieces.
Season the rice with syrup and mix gently. Garnish with fresh strawberries and serve.
Strawberry risotto is ready.
Bon appetit!
- Peel the vegetables and cut into small cubes.
- Pour a little olive oil into a saucepan with a thick bottom (you can take a cauldron or a deep frying pan) and fry the vegetables over low heat: first onions and carrots, after 15-20 minutes add bell pepper and finely chopped garlic. After another 5 minutes - a few tablespoons of oil and zucchini: stirring occasionally, simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the tomatoes last and green beans: it is enough for them to simmer for 5 minutes.
- When all the vegetables are ready, cover them with water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and wait until they are boiled.
- Remove half of the vegetables and set aside. Grind the remaining vegetables in the pan with a blender until pureed. Then return the whole vegetables to the pan.
- Put the soup back on the heat and bring to a boil. Now it's the turn of the pasta. As soon as they are cooked until half cooked, the stove can be turned off.
- Toss in the chopped herbs and add cheese before serving. Minestrone is ready!
Risotto is not a type of Italian pilaf, and certainly not rice porrige. This fragrant substance cannot be described rationally. Anyone who tries risotto for the first time is sure to fall under the spell of these wonderful aromatic grains of rice surrounded by a delicate creamy “cloud”.
A little history
For the risotto recipe to be born, it required high-starch rice, meat broth and butter. All this was in the prosperous Italian city-states, lying at the crossroads of trade flows. Who first came up with the idea of frying rice and who, having forgotten the rice soup on the fire, appreciated the taste qualities of the resulting mass is unknown to science. The first recipe for risotto was published only in 1809, in the Milanese collection " Modern kitchen", although legends date it back to the 16th century.
Cooking steps:
1. ROASTING RICE
This is one of key points preparations. Rice is fried in a thick-bottomed pan or frying pan. Roasting opens the pores in the rice grains, which subsequently absorb the broth.
Rice must be one of three varieties: Arborio, Vialone nano or carnaroli. All of them are sold in supermarkets. Arborio is the most popular. It contains more starch, making it easier to achieve the legendary creamy tenderness with a velvety texture. Novice cooks are very happy about this circumstance and admit typical mistake: they cook for too long, resulting in a banal porridge with completely boiled grains. Beginners should take Vialone nano, it will definitely not boil over, it will easily reach the consistency of “al dente” and you will get “grain to grain”. Vialone is not as “creamy” as Arborio, and the taste is different, although still pleasant. It is ideal for seafood risotto. The third variety of rice is called carnaroli, the result of crossing Vialone with Japanese varieties. Carnaroli is the most expensive of the trio, combining creamy delicacy with an al dente consistency.
Before preparing risotto, you need to check that there are no damaged rice grains. They cook faster and the risotto turns out uneven. Another rule: rice should never be washed.
According to the classics, this butter. It can also be any vegetable oil: olive, rapeseed, sunflower, pumpkin. In Piedmont they serve risotto cooked with smoked pork lard. Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal prepares risotto on bone marrow, and Salvatore de Vivo (Kiev restaurant "Da Vinci Fish Club") takes half and half refined olive and butter. If pure butter is used, it is important not to overheat it to the point of browning.
A traditional roasting ingredient. Gives the necessary juice. Typically, chopped onions are added along with the rice (as in our recipe below), but sometimes cooks recommend frying the plain rice for about a minute to get a subtle nutty flavor before adding the onions.
Fillers
These can be vegetables, pieces of meat, fish, seafood. If they require a long cooking time, like meat or zucchini, they are added at the frying stage, along with onions. Fast-cooking seafood is added two to three minutes before the end of cooking.
2. ADDING WINE
Alcohol also helps open the pores of the grains, and notes of wine complement the nutty taste of rice well. A good dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio is usually recommended. However, they use vermouth, sherry, and sometimes strong alcohol.
3. ADDING BROTH
This is the main step in making risotto. For 500 g of rice there is usually 1.5 liters of broth. First add 1/3 of the total broth and, when it is absorbed, add the rest of the broth, gradually, in small portions of no more than 1 tablespoon. The next portion is added after the previous one has been completely absorbed. During the break, it is not recommended to leave the stove anywhere. Risotto, like a small child, requires constant supervision. The rule is simple: stir, stir and stir again! The broth should always be hot, almost boiling; the stock should be nearby in a separate saucepan over low heat.
Can be chicken, beef, fish or vegetable. The classic is beef broth. For seafood risotto, water is used. Heston Blumenthal believes that risotto is a dish that is not harmed even by cubed broth. In general, as it turns out, bouillon cubes can still be used for something.
Getty Images/Fotobank
4. LAST STAGE. ADDING CHEESE, GREENS AND SERVING
When all the broth has been absorbed and the rice is 90% ready, it’s time to finalize the dish. The heat is turned off, cheese and sometimes a little butter are quickly added to the hot massive frying pan or pan with risotto. Cover the dish, leave for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle with herbs and serve.
Cheese
Traditionally, this is grated Parmigiano or Grana Padano
BASIC RISOTTO RECIPE
Ingredients:
Approximately 1.1 liters of broth (meat, fish or vegetable)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion
2 large cloves of garlic
- ½ celery root
400 g rice
2 glasses of dry white wine
70 g butter
115 g grated Parmesan cheese
Heat the broth. In a heavy frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter, finely chop the garlic, onion and celery, and fry slowly over low heat until they are softened but retain their color. Then add rice and increase heat.
Cook the rice evenly, stirring constantly. After about a minute, the grains will begin to become transparent. Add the wine, continue stirring, enjoying the fantastic aroma, until the liquid has evaporated and been absorbed.
Pour one and a half cups of broth into the rice and add salt. Reduce heat to low and stir constantly until rice absorbs broth. After this, add the broth one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly, as if “massaging” the rice. Taste the rice each time you add broth. If it is still hard, add the next tablespoon of broth, and add salt if necessary. Just remember that at the end of cooking, Parmesan cheese will be added to the risotto, which will also add saltiness. If the broth is gone and the rice is still hard, continue adding boiled water.
When the rice is almost done, turn off the heat, add the Parmesan cheese, stir thoroughly and leave for 2 minutes. Then serve immediately.
Forgive me for writing about Italian cuisine so often! 🙂 I must admit that this is the best I have ever tried. Of course, many countries have wonderful cuisine, but Italian, in my opinion, is perfect! I admit that I may be biased - but let that be my little flaw :)
Today I want to talk to you about the Italian tradition of cooking rice - or more precisely about a dish called “risotto”, which became widespread in Italy in the nineteenth century and is very popular these days, especially in the north of the country.
Risotto means “small rice” in Italian. The thing is that the type of rice for risotto needs to be chosen correctly - round, with a high content of starch, so that during the cooking process it turns out sticky and not crumbly. Most often, the Arborio variety is used for risotto (in Russian stores this variety can be found from the Mistral company), there are other possible varieties - vialone nano and carnaroli. Since rice is the basis of risotto, it is important to take its choice seriously, and under no circumstances should you prepare risotto from fluffy or long-grain rice - it is better to try to look for the right variety, especially since arborio is now available almost everywhere.
In addition to the correctly chosen variety of rice, there are a few more little secrets in the technology for preparing risotto - not at all difficult for this type of rice. delicious dish. First, oil - rice is certainly fried in butter or olive oil, and sometimes both are combined during the cooking process. I prefer olive - lighter and healthier.
Secondly, wine - it is definitely used to prepare risotto at the very beginning. Usually it is dry white, but sometimes red and even sparkling, depending on the recipe.
Thirdly, the consistency of the risotto is important - it should turn out creamy. To do this, use broth (vegetable, fish or meat), or plain water, and grated Parmesan is added to the already prepared dish, giving the dish even more tenderness.
There are endless variations of risotto - with cheese or vegetables, meat or fish. There are even sweet types of risotto, or those that combine, at first glance, incompatible things - for example, unsweetened strawberry risotto, which is prepared with fried onions.
Now let’s move on to practice and prepare the easiest one classic version!
Risotto alla milanese
What you need for 3-4 servings:
250 g arborio rice
1 large onion
1 glass of dry white wine
1 liter vegetable broth
pinch of saffron
150 g grated parmesan
olive oil
salt, pepper to taste
Peel the onion, finely chop and fry in a deep frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Then pour in the rice (raw! There is no need to cook it!) and fry a little, stirring constantly until it becomes slightly transparent. After this, pour the wine into the frying pan, mix everything thoroughly, and wait until the wine has completely evaporated. Now gradually add the broth so that the rice is always covered with it by about the thickness of a finger. When the broth has evaporated, add more, and then more, until the rice reaches a creamy state. Then pour the saffron, previously soaked in a small amount of water, into the frying pan, add salt and pepper, add grated Parmesan and mix everything thoroughly. Now remove the frying pan from the heat and let the dish stand for a while under the closed lid. That's all!
There is no classic risotto recipe. The constant components of this dish are rice and broth. But other ingredients may vary.
However there are several general rules risotto preparations that need to be followed.
10 secrets to perfect risotto
- For risotto, you need to choose round, starchy varieties of rice. The best varieties are considered to be Arborio, Carnaroli, Baldo and Vialone Nano. Sometimes manufacturers specifically indicate on rice packages that it is suitable for risotto.
- Almost always fry at the beginning of cooking. onion. It should soften but not brown.
- Add rice to the onion and fry it for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. The grains should be saturated with oil and become translucent.
- Dry white wine is almost always added to risotto. It gives the dish a special aroma. But if you don't want to use alcohol, just replace it with broth.
- Vegetable broth is also suitable for any risotto. Sometimes mushroom, fish or beef will be appropriate. In extreme cases, the broth can be replaced with water with bouillon cubes dissolved in it.
- The broth must be hot, but not boiling.
- The liquid must be added in parts - about one ladle at a time. The next portion is poured in after the previous one has evaporated. In this case, you need to stir the rice often and cook over low heat.
- It takes approximately 20-25 minutes to cook the rice. The rice grains should remain slightly stiff, but the risotto itself should have a creamy consistency. If it turns out a little dry, add more broth.
- The broth and Parmesan, which is almost always added to risotto, are quite salty. Therefore, salt ready dish need to be done carefully.
- Once cooked, cover the risotto and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Serve hot.
Ingredients:
- 1 liter of chicken broth;
- 1 teaspoon saffron;
- 1 onion;
- 200 g rice;
- 100 ml dry white wine;
- 50 g parmesan;
- salt is optional.
Preparation
Heat the broth and add saffron to it. Heat olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan. Fry finely chopped onion until soft.
Add rice to the onion and fry for a couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and stir until it is absorbed into the rice. Gradually pour in the saffron broth.
Add the remaining butter and grated cheese and mix the risotto well. Add salt if necessary.
Ingredients:
- 300 g mushrooms (champignons or porcini);
- 1 tablespoon olive oil;
- 2 tablespoons butter;
- 1 onion;
- 200 g rice;
- 50 ml dry white wine;
- 1 liter of chicken, mushroom or vegetable broth;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- several sprigs of parsley;
- 50 g parmesan;
- salt is optional.
Preparation
Cut the mushrooms into thin slices and place in a frying pan with heated olive oil. Fry until the mushrooms are browned.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add finely chopped onion and fry until soft. Add rice and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.
Pour wine into the saucepan. When it is absorbed into the rice, gradually pour in the hot broth. Then add chopped garlic, fried mushrooms, chopped parsley, grated Parmesan and salt and mix well.
howsweeteats.com Ingredients:
- 450 g chicken thighs without skin and bones;
- salt - to taste;
- 2 tablespoons olive oil;
- 1 onion;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 300 g rice;
- 200 ml dry white wine;
- 1 liter of chicken broth;
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest;
- 30 g parmesan;
- several sprigs of basil;
- a few sprigs of parsley.
Preparation
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. You can use other seasonings to suit your taste. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Cool and cut into small pieces.
Melt butter in a saucepan and fry finely chopped onion until soft. Add chopped garlic and fry for another minute. Add rice to vegetables and lightly fry.
Pour wine and hot broth into the rice little by little. Then add lemon zest, grated Parmesan, chicken, some chopped herbs and salt (if necessary). Before serving, sprinkle the risotto with the remaining herbs.
delish.com Ingredients:
- 1 onion;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- 200 g rice;
- 950 ml chicken broth;
- 350 ml dry white wine;
- 2 lemons;
- several sprigs of parsley;
- 1 teaspoon ground red pepper;
- 450 g peeled shrimp;
- salt - to taste;
- 100 g parmesan.
Preparation
Melt one tablespoon of butter in a saucepan. Cut the onion into small cubes and fry in oil until soft. Add one minced garlic clove and cook for a couple more minutes.
Add rice to vegetables and stir-fry for several minutes. Pour hot broth and 250 ml of wine into the saucepan in parts.
In another frying pan, melt the remaining butter. Add three crushed cloves of garlic, the juice of two lemons, some chopped parsley and red pepper and cook, stirring, for two minutes.
Place the shrimp in the pan, season with salt and fry over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Pour in the remaining wine and bring to a boil.
Add the shrimp along with the sauce and grated Parmesan to the rice and mix well. Add salt if necessary. Before serving, sprinkle the risotto with chopped parsley.
bbcgoodfood.com Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter;
- 1 onion;
- 250 g rice;
- 100 ml dry white wine;
- 1 liter of vegetable or fish broth;
- 250 g smoked mackerel;
- a few green onions;
- 100 g spinach;
- salt is optional.
Preparation
Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the chopped onion in it. Add rice and fry for a couple of minutes.
Gradually pour wine and hot broth into rice. Then add the fish, cut into small pieces, minced green onions and spinach and stir.
Cook a little longer until the spinach softens. Add salt to risotto if necessary.
jamieoliver.com Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter;
- 1 onion;
- 100 g bacon;
- 1 bunch of fresh thyme;
- 400 g rice;
- 150 ml dry white wine;
- 1 liter of chicken or vegetable broth;
- 200 g frozen peas;
- salt - optional;
- ground black pepper - to taste;
- 100 g goat cheese;
- 75 g parmesan.
Preparation
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add finely chopped onion, small pieces of bacon and thyme and cook for a few minutes until the onion softens. Add rice and fry lightly.
Gradually pour the wine and most of the hot broth into the rice. Add peas, remaining broth, salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, add half the goat cheese and Parmesan and stir. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the risotto before serving.
nytimes.com Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant;
- 800 g tomatoes;
- salt - to taste;
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon of dried thyme;
- 1 onion;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 250 g rice;
- 100 ml dry white wine;
- 1½ liters vegetable or chicken broth;
- ground black pepper - to taste;
- 30 g parmesan.
Preparation
Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with a spoonful of oil. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, make several cuts at the cut points and place the vegetables on a baking sheet. Bake at 230°C for about 20 minutes.
Cut the tomatoes and cooled eggplants into small cubes. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, add vegetables and add salt and thyme. Cook, stirring, for 10–15 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and fry the finely chopped onion. Add chopped garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. Then place the rice in a saucepan and lightly fry.
Pour wine over rice. When it has evaporated, add the vegetable mixture and stir. Gradually pour in the hot broth. Add pepper, grated Parmesan, salt if necessary and stir.
jamieoliver.com Ingredients:
- 1 onion;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 2 celery stalks;
- 1 tablespoon butter;
- 1–2 teaspoons olive oil;
- 2 small zucchini;
- 800 ml vegetable broth;
- 1 bunch of basil;
- 300 g rice;
- 200 ml dry white wine;
- 250 g mozzarella;
- 40 g parmesan;
- salt - optional;
- ground black pepper - to taste;
- 1 red chili pepper.
Preparation
Cut the onion, garlic and celery into small cubes. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add olive oil, chopped vegetables and some water. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes until the vegetables soften.
Cut the zucchini lengthwise into quarters and cut each into small pieces. Heat the vegetable broth, add the basil stems, simmer for a few minutes and remove the stems. They are only needed for flavor.
Place rice in a saucepan, stir and fry for about a minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed it. Gradually pour in ⅔ of the broth, then add the zucchini and add the remaining broth in parts.
Remove risotto from heat. Add half the finely chopped basil leaves, mozzarella pieces, half the grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Stir and leave covered for a couple of minutes.
Remove seeds from chili and cut into small pieces. Before serving, sprinkle the risotto with chili pepper, remaining basil leaves and grated cheese.
bbcgoodfood.com Ingredients:
- 1 kg pumpkin pulp;
- 1 bunch of fresh sage;
- 3 tablespoons olive oil;
- 3 tablespoons butter;
- 1 onion;
- 300 g rice;
- 100 ml dry white wine;
- 1½ liters vegetable broth;
- 50 g parmesan;
- salt is optional.
Preparation
Cut the pumpkin into small cubes. Chop half the sage leaves. Place the squash and chopped sage on a baking sheet, spoon over the oil and toss to combine. Bake for 30 minutes at 220°C until the pumpkin is soft.
Meanwhile, melt half the butter in a saucepan. Fry finely chopped onion until soft. Add rice and stir-fry for a few minutes. Gradually pour wine and hot broth into rice.
In another pan, heat the remaining olive oil, add the sage leaves and fry until slightly crisp. Place the sage on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Puree half of the roasted pumpkin. Add to rice pumpkin puree, remaining butter and grated Parmesan and mix thoroughly. Add salt if necessary. Before serving, garnish the risotto with pumpkin pieces and sage leaves.
webspoon.ru Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter;
- 1 onion;
- 120 g rice;
- 100 ml dry white wine;
- 500 ml vegetable broth;
- 300 g pears;
- 60 g blue cheese;
- 20 g parmesan;
- salt is optional.
Preparation
Melt butter in a saucepan and fry finely chopped onion. Add rice and fry for a few more minutes.
Gradually pour in the wine and most of the hot broth. Peel and seed the pears and cut into small pieces. Add the pears and remaining broth to the rice and cook until the fruit has softened.
Add the blue cheese pieces and grated Parmesan and mix thoroughly. Salt the risotto if necessary.
