by Deborah Cummings

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: April 13, 2012

Do you love risotto, but do not know how to make it? If so, here are a few tips and a couple of recipes that you will use over and over to make risotto. We can thank Italy for this delicious dish; particularly the northern area where rice paddies can be found in quantity.

Risotto is a creamy, scrumptious dish that does require a small amount of finesse to make. This is because the Italians do not consider it risotto unless it is prepared properly. It is just a rice dish until it becomes risotto.

The first step is to cook the rice in either olive oil or butter. This is just done long enough to give each piece of rice a thin film of the oil being used. The next step is adding the white wine. The wine will evaporate. When it does turn up the heat to a medium high and add your stock. This has to be extremely hot. As you add this, stir constantly. This allows the starch to escape from the rice and mixed with the liquid in the pan, a very creamy mixture starts to form.

As soon as the wine is evaporated which takes approximately 17 minutes, remove your pan from the heat and add cold butter which has been diced into small pieces. Add Parmesan cheese, finely grated. Whip this mixture until it is as creamy as possible.

If your risotto is correctly prepared it should be creamy and the rice will still have a touch of a hard feel when eaten. This dish must be served and eaten right away to enjoy the awesome taste. If it sits too long, it will continue to cook in the pan and it will become extremely dry rather than having the creamy taste you desire.

Risotto is made using many types of ingredients. Fish, vegetables and meat of some type are going to be used. Beans, peas, and wine and cheese (although cheese is normally not used in risotto which contains seafood) are the typical ingredients used. Here are a couple of variations of risotto:

Risotto alla Milanese - This risotto uses beef stock, butter and cheese is normally served with veal. It is also flavored with saffron, from which it also gets the yellow tint.

Risotto al Barolo - This one is made with red wine, sausage and/or Borlotti beans.

Try a couple of these recipes and see if you can make risotto like the Italians.

Using a medium saucepan combine 1/3 cup chopped onions and 1 tablespoon butter, cook until the onions are done. Add 2/3 cup long grain rice, cooking this for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, and just a pinch of pepper. Bring this mixture to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer this with a lid for 20 minutes. Do not remove the lid for 20 minutes. When the time is up, remove the pan from the heat, stir in a cup of peas, cover and let it stand for 5 more minutes. Add cup Parmesan cheese and you are ready for dinner.

Here is another great dish. Using 1 can of your choice brand cream of mushroom soup, 1 cups water, cup of milk, cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 cups frozen vegetables, pound of skinless, boneless chicken breast, and cup long grain white rice, combine all ingredients in a baking dish. Cover and bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Stir the mixture, bake for 10 more minutes and let stand 5 minutes before serving. This makes a great chicken and cheese risotto.

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