Speaker: Hi, we are going to talk about cooking a basic risotto. Risotto is a time-ordered Italian dish and it is very classic, lovely recipe. And there is as many ways to prepare risotto, as there are cooks in the world. But the most basic form is to end up with a creamy and very delectable dish. And the way to start with that is you basically take a cup of risotto rice, its Arborio rice. And you add a tablespoon of oil or butter. I like to add I like to do half and half. Because the oil has a higher burning point but, butter taste a lot better so you can combine the two.
And you basically stir fry the Arborio rice in a skillet over a medium flame until it become golden brown. You do not want to burn it but you just want to toast it a little bit. That will help release some of the starch which is what makes the risotto so creamy and wonderful. And then what you do is you have either a kettle of boiling water on hold, standing by or broth that is heated already that you add cup of, to the mixer that has to turn the heat down a little bit and add a cup and stir it in.
The secret to risotto is you have to stir almost constantly for a good 20 to 25 minutes. The total cooking time is about 25 minutes, so you can time your self as if when you start to put the liquids in. As soon as the first cup of water or broth is absorbed you continue to add half a cup of water at a time stirring. You can take a minute rest in between for your arm or for the risotto that is fine. But you want to stir pretty consistently to keep the mixer from getting clumpy. And soon as that half cup of water is absorbed you add yet another half a cup and stir.
So the total cooking time is 25 minutes as I said. And during the stirring phase in the very beginning you can add any kind of vegetables that you would like, mushrooms. You can add onions. you can add canned tomatoes, as hot heated can tomatoes as part of your hot liquid. There is a number of varieties of ways you could do it. But it really just a great comfort food and it is always a very welcome addition as a side dish to any meal or it can be your main dish. It is really up to you, so enjoy.
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