Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 698kcal
Equipment
- Microplane Grater (Best for grating Parmesan cheese and other uses)
- Heavy Bottomed French Oven or Other Suitable Cooking Pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of short-grain Italian risotto rice like Carnaroli Vialone Nano, or Arborio (in order of my personal preference)
- 1 large onion approximately 400 grams, finely chopped
- 6 cups of homemade chicken or beef stock you will not use all of it but it is best to have extra just in case
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup microplaned Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving (kept cold in fridge)
- 4 tablespoons butter for the start
- 2 tablespoons butter for the very end, kept cold in fridge
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sea salt & black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Get everything ready and then bring it to your stove area for easy access: finely chop your onion, measure out your risotto, measure out your wine. Microplane your cheese. Chop up your butter into small ½ inch cubes. Place your cheese and about 2 tablespoons worth of butter back into the refrigerator for the end.
- In a pot, heat up your bone broth/stock. I like to get mine up to the boiling point, and then immediately turn the heat off. It is important that the broth is hot but not boiling when you start adding it to the risotto rice.
- Add the onion, butter and olive oil into a heavy-bottomed French Oven/Dutch Oven or a large enough (10 inches+) pan that has not been preheated. Turn the heat up to medium.
- Stir the onions until they soften up and become translucent but never brown. Cook them slowly, stirring, turning the heat down to low if necessary.
- Add the rice and keep the heat low to medium. Add a small pinch of sea salt. Slowly stir the rice grains around. You will eventually hear popping and clicking sounds and the grains will begin to turn a very pale shade of gold.
- Pour in the white wine and turn up the heat to med/high. Cook off practically all of the wine and just as it cooks off and it looks like the rice will have absorbed all of it — immediately ladle in enough of the hot stock to cover the grains completely.
- Now, set a timer for 18 minutes (or just make note of the time.)
- Fiddle with your heat settings so that your risotto is just simmering gently, not boiling or just sitting there. You should see gentle movement in the stock.Stay close by and stir the rice gently to keep it from sticking. You do not need to be stirring continuously for the entire 18-minutes.
- Add more broth as it disappears into your rice. Wait until it is almost practically all gone before adding another ladle of broth.
- Be patient. It will require all 18 minutes to cook the risotto. If it stops absorbing liquid well before time is up, you have kept the heat too high. The center of the grains will be unpleasantly starchy. If it is not ready yet, you have kept it too low. It will become mushy by the time it finally finishes. Remember to keep the stock and rice simmering and make sure your stock is hot to begin with!
- At the 18-minute mark, taste your risotto — it should be al dente, tender and creamy but not mushy, there will be a bit of resistance at the center but no starchy mealiness at all.
- Remove the risotto from the heat, cover it, and allow it to rest for 4 minutes. Uncover and immediately beat in the cold butter and Parmesan from the refrigerator. Taste for salt, add more if necessary, and then add freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve immidietly.
Notes
Important: Once the first ladle of chicken stock hits the pan, set your timer to 18 minutes. Do not overcook the risotto, there is a fine line between creamy and mushy.
You can start the risotto in all-butter, all-olive oil, or a mixture of both -- just make sure to finish off with butter, and not oil.
Risotto is best consumed within the first two days of making it, although it will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days easily stored in an airtight container. Risotto does not freeze well, but if you must, freeze for up to three months and allow it to slowly thaw in the refrigerator before then letting it get to room temperature before reheating.
To reheat, place a small amount of water or bone broth into a pot or pan on medium heat — just enough to barely cover the surface. Add the risotto and stir gently until it gets hot but doesn't boil.
Have Everything Ready At The Stove
The risotto will not wait for you. So measure out your rice and wine. Heat up your stock. Finely dice your onions. Microplane your Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cut up your butter into cubes.
Keep everything by your stove except the butter and cheese. They need to be kept in the fridge
Nutrition
Calories: 698kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1055mg | Potassium: 529mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 732IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 325mg | Iron: 4mg
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