Ina Garten | No Stir Easy Parmesan Risotto - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

How do restaurants make risotto so creamy? ›

Risotto technique: cook a starchy ingredient slowly, adding liquid bit by bit and stirring. Aim: pull starch out for creaminess.

We par cook it. We make the recipe without finishing it with cream or butter or cheese. We pour the hot risotto onto a sheet tray to cool quickly and then store it in a container. Once we are ready to serve, we reheat the risotto with a little chicken stock, and finish with cream, butter, and some parmesan cheese.

Either shredded mozzarella or fresh mozzarella works, but I do have a preference for the latter.

When cooking risotto on a stovetop, you're required to periodically stir it to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Some people, however, stir it too frequently. This adds air into the risotto, cooling it down and making it gluey.

Always use warm stock.

Warming the broth before adding it to the warm rice coaxes more starch out of each grain of rice and helps prevent it from overcooking. Cool broth takes longer to warm up in the risotto pan and may shock the grain into holding onto its starches while the rice itself continues to cook.

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels. First and foremost, you don't have to run to the store to buy stock, which saves you time and money. Also, the flavor of store-bought broths or stocks varies widely and can sometimes overpower the other ingredients in your risotto.

In Italy, risotto is often celebrated as a standalone dish, especially when it's seasoned with robust flavors from meat, cheese, or fish sauce like risotto with crabs. However, there are rare occasions when risotto might share its glory with another delicacy, like the classic pairing of risotto Milanese and osso buco.

It's true that once you start cooking, it does require a fair amount of attention, but it doesn't take more than 30 minutes to make. In fact, true Italian cooks will tell you that risotto should take no more than 18 to 19 minutes from start to finish.

Arborio is the most popular short-grain rice for making risotto. It is capable of absorbing large amounts of liquid and produces a relatively creamy risotto with a hearty texture. Carnaroli is a plumper, larger grain of rice that has a high starch content.

Is risotto healthy? ›

Risotto is not only delicious, but it also can be an incredible base for creating a nutrient-packed meal. Many of your favorite vegetables, like mushrooms, peas and spinach, make tasty additions to risotto. Beyond rice, broth and vegetables, risotto may also be made with spices, meat, seafood, cheese or butter added.

Risotto contains carbohydrates, which are necessary to fuel the body. But, some recipes are high in saturated fat because of the cheese and butter that is used to prepare the dish. Risotto can also be high in sodium. Adding vegetables and a lean protein helps give risotto a more balanced nutritional profile.

I prefer the flavor of chicken broth or stock in risotto. If you're vegetarian, vegetable broth or stock will be just fine. I use regular broth for this recipe and not low-sodium, if you use low sodium just be sure to taste test and add more salt at the end as needed.

Arborio rice is an Italian rice variety that's naturally high in starch. That's what gives risotto its signature creamy texture! The key to cooking arborio rice to maximize its creaminess in risotto recipes is low heat, and letting all the liquid absorb before adding more.

The most important part is using just enough broth (about a ladle full) and stirring it in each time. Pour in just enough to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom but don't drown it. This helps the rice to release as much starch as possible while stirring to give your rice the creamiest texture possible.