Risotto

A dependancy

Rice, Vermouth and Bone Marrow

My name is BrianR and I'm a Risottoholic.

There, I've done it. I've admitted my risotto dependency to you all, and not least to myself, and as every addict knows this is the first step to a 'cure'. You may not know (and please don't ask me how I know) but most programs to overcome addiction, dependency or other behavioural problems are based on the Twelve-Step Program created by Alcoholics Anonymous way back in the late 1930's. The problem I have is that I don't want to go through the other eleven stages, I love risotto, it's a big part of my life, and apart from adding a few inches to my evermore relaxed waistline and maybe upping my cholesterol a little it's not doing me any harm. Neither is it affecting my relationship with my family and friends, except of course being labelled a risotto bore.

Risotto has a reputation for being hard work and difficult to get right. A reputation I suspect not helped by the fact that a really good restaurant risotto is very hard to find. A risotto needs the time and undivided attention that only a top end restaurant can give. Lesser restaurants will half cook the risotto then spread it out on trays and chill until required. They then finished it off in portions with more stock to order. This is not good, it doesn't really work. The best restaurants for me know their limitations and keep risotto off the menu.

Having bemoaned the restaurant risotto, with a little practise, a little patience, the correct rice, a good stock and the strict adherence to a few well documented simple steps you can produce at home a rich, creamy, classic rice dish to seduce the gods.

Sounds a lot more complicated than it is – trust me.

Firstly the rice. Risotto rice is plump, short or medium grained with the ability to absorb liquids and to release starch. The three mainstream varieties are Arborio, Carnaroli and Vialone Nano. There was a time in my risotto youth that Arborio was the only risotto rice you could find in the UK. Gradually Carnaroli made an appearance and I use to snatch this up whenever I came across it. Now Carnaroli seems to be the variety most readily available and Arborio seems to have done a disappearing trick (a bit like Remegel – my indigestion relief of choice). Vialone Nano can be found in better supermarkets and Italian markets as they say. Carnaroli is generally preferred over Arborio by Italians and chefs as it is better at retaining it's bite and shape and is less prone to over cooking. Vialone Nano is smaller, cooks quicker and absorbs stock better. This makes it the rice of choice for Venetian style risottos which are 'soupier' in finish. By the way if you see the designation of Superfino, Semifino and Fino on the packets of risotto rice it doesn't refer to quality but the size and shape of the grains.

Secondly the stock, or more accurately, firstly equal. No matter what rice you use or what ingredients you add without a good stock you are never going to create a good risotto. Obviously you need to match your stock to you main ingredient but whether it is fish, meat or vegetable it needs to be flavoursome but light and not too salty. I like to buy whole chickens and joint them myself (some guys like to play golf or watch a little football to relax at the weekend, me I like a bit of butchery), anyway, I usually use the carcass to make a big pan of stock which I divide into little pots and freeze. If I have some veg going begging and the time and inclination I will knock up a vegetable stock but to be honest I mostly use that Swiss Vegetable Bouillon which I think is brilliant, although for risotto I tend to make it a little less strong than advised on the tub. If I'm going including prawns in my risotto I like to buy them with their shells on which I remove and simmer with a half of onion and maybe a bit of celery (if I have some) to make a really fishy stock. Having said all that if you only have a stock cube to work with no problem just don't make your stock too strong (you don't have to use a whole cube, no matter how tempting it is to do so) and don't forget they are usually quite salty as is the parmesan you may be adding later.

You don't need any special equipment to cook a risotto just a couple of pans (one with a lid), some kind of stirring stick and a ladle. In fact even the ladle isn't that necessary but you do need some sort of vessel to add the stock to the rice in a controlled way. The stirring stick I always use is my favourite wooden spoon. This is really old and has quite a thin round shaft with a smallish head but with that square corner to get right into the edge of the pan. Apparently there is a specialist rice stirring stick which is called a girariso. This is an odd shaped spatula with a hole in and it is claimed it helps to get the starch from the grains and distribute it better. I don't know, I've seen them but just thought they were strange, now I know what they are for I'll pick one up next time and give it a try. As for the pans, I use a couple of saucepans, one slightly smaller than the other for the stock and the larger one for the rice. I used to use a large wide sauté pan but I definitely get better results with a thick bottom saucepan.

Lets get some stock into the pan, bring it to a steady rolling boil and get on with making a basic risotto...

The first stage of a risotto is called the Soffritto. Technically this is a mix of finely chopped vegetables, such as onions, garlic, and celery that is sautéed in olive oil. I like to warm a glug of olive oil and a blob of butter in a pan and add my onions and celery (if I'm using it) and let them soften very gently without colouring. This, I have read somewhere is the only time it is acceptable to add ingredients to a cold pan and I can't think of an example to prove this wrong. Whether it is right or wrong just take your time with this stage and give it a little stir now and again. For some risottos you may want to use leeks instead of the onions and celery. I only use the very, very pale part of the leek as the greener part tends to go an unappetising colour as it cooks (as does red onion – yuk). If you are using leeks, be especially careful as they soon brown. I also wait until the onions and stuff are well softened before adding my garlic and cooking for just a few minutes.

The next stage is the Tostatura. Tostatura comes from the verb meaning “to toast” and referrers to the adding of the rice to the Soffritto and coating the grains with the oil and giving them a toasting. Give the rice, onions etc. a stir for a minute or so before turning up the heat. When you have upped the heat add a good glass of wine (less the chefs sip), you should get a fairly aggressive sizzle and spitting. I prefer white wine to red here but only on the grounds of purity of colour. In fact I usually prefer a good slug of Vermouth, not only has it more flavour from the infused herbs but it means you still have a full bottle of wine to drink with your risotto. I keep a bottle of Vermouth in the fridge on standby (it keeps well or so I'm led to believe) but make sure it's a good brand, cheapies and own brands can be really disappointing, stick you nose over the pan and breath in that lovely, lovely steam you'll know what I mean. Let the wine evaporate completely while giving it a little stir before turning down the heat to medium again and moving onto the third stage.

I couldn't find any fancy Italian term for the third stage of risotto making so I've called it Stocking which is an old Lancastrian verb (that I've just invented) meaning “to add stock”. Add a couple of ladles full of the hot stock to the rice and give it a stir or two until it is almost totally absorbed before adding a couple more ladles full and repeating the process. For a risotto for two (about two thirds to a cup full of rice, depending on appetite) I usually add three to four lots of two ladles full before starting to nibble at a grain to test for doneness. As the rice approaches doneness reduce the amount of stock you add each time so as not to overshoot. When your rice is done it should be still slightly firm and suspended in a lovely starchy goo which should just take a second or two to flow back after you scrap a spoon across the bottom of the pan.

Now for the final two stages, the two that are the real secret to a good risotto.

Resting stage. Remove the pan from the heat and add as many cubes of cold butter as you think your heart can take and a good handful of parmesan or the like. The Italians don't go for cheese with fish but I don't see any harm in it, it's your call. Stick the lid on and set a timer for one minute. I have to do this as my anticipation makes me lose all sense of timing.

The final stage is the Mantecatura. Manteca is Spanish for butter (there is quite a connection between Spanish and Italian cuisine, have a read of John Dickie's Delizia!: the epic history of the Italians and their food – the first few chapters are a little heavy going but it's worth persevering). The Mantecature stage is the stage to emulsify the rice starch, butter and cheese to give the risotto the creamy consistency that makes a good risotto a great risotto. So get you stirring stick in and stir for all you are worth until your arm is hurting. Stick the lid back on and set the timer again. This time for four minutes.

Serve up on a beautiful plate. It should hold slightly in a mound as you serve but 'flow' when you give the plate a shimmy. This is known as All'onda or “on the wave”.

Now we have an understanding of the stages that go into making a good plain or white risotto lets have a few thoughts on what flavours and ingredients we can add. Well I can't think of anything you can't add but whatever you add don't over do it. Less is more, don't overwhelm the the true star of the show which is the creamy mix of rice and stock.

With very few exceptions I don't add my additional ingredients during the cooking of my risotto preferring instead to cook them separate and either stir them through the rice after the Mantecatura beating and before the final resting or simply sprinkling them on the risotto as it is plated up. Some things will cook in the residual heat of the risotto as it rests. A good example of this are slivers of smoked haddock (the natural stuff not the yellow peril). Try this with a leek based risotto... yum yum!

On the less is more theme my all time favourite risotto has to be a simple saffron risotto. This is a basic white risotto but with a few strands of saffron soaked in a little warm water for ten minutes before being added to the rice with the first ladle of chicken stock. The clean taste and the superb golden yellow colour of this risotto served up in a pure white 'pasta' dish is as sexy as an E-Type Jaguar posing in the sun with its top down.

Just a final word, adding bone marrow to the saffron risotto makes it into Risotto Milanese. Occasionally I buy marrow bones from the butchers and dig out the marrow as a special treat. The lady that serves me thinks they are for my dog. I don't have a dog but I don't have the heart to tell her. She would probably think I'm a bit weird anyway – tripe is perfectly acceptable in Lancashire but bone marrow...