The latest issue of Fine Cooking arrived yesterday and had a great write up and recipe guidelines for risotto from Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. I love Lidia. She is the Italian American verison of Paula Deen.
In a nutshell, here's what the article says...
7 steps to a classic risotto:
1) Prepare your ingredients. Chop what needs to be chopped. If you are adding meats, pre-cook those. Measure everything. Tonight I browned 1/2 a pound of sweet Italian sausage. When it's done, remove and drain.
2) Sweat the aromatics. Since I precooked the sausage, I didn't need to add much extra olive oil. But to sweat the aromatics, heat olive oil in a nice sized kettle, add onions, shallots or leeks and lightly saute over medium heat until translucent. Tonight it was leeks.
3) Toast the rice and add the wine. Add two cups of Arborio rice, stirring constantly to coat each grain of rice with oil, about three minutes. Add one cup of white wine and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. I forgot the wine tonight.
4) Create the foundation of flavor. If you want, add in a main flavor backdrop. (Saffron, Tomatoes, Dried Mushrooms, Radicchio.) I skipped this step.
5) Add the liquid in increments. Next to the type of rice, this is the most important step. Keep a pot of hot liquid next to the pot with the risotto and add 1 ladleful of liquid at a time. Stir until absorbed, then add another ladle. Continue until the rice is nearly, but not fully al dente. Usually will need 6 cups, sometimes a little more or a little less. The quality of the liquid will lead directly to the quality of the final product. I have said and will say again, Swanson's Low Sodium Chicken Broth is a very good product to use. I personally don't have time to make homemade stock on a regular basis.
6) Add vegetables or meat. Right prior to the rice being done, add in your flavor highlights. Leeks, Zucchini, Asparagus, Butternut Squash, Shrimp, Scallops, Sausage, Bacon, Pancetta, Chicken, Beef or Pork....etc. etc. etc. etc.
7) Finish your risotto. Taste to see if the cooking is done, al dente and creamy. Do you need more salt or not? Then: choose one or more: Parsley, Basil, Mint, Scallions, Lemon Zest, Orange Zest, Balsamic Vinegar; Choose one, 2-3 TB: Butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Choose one grated cheese, 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups: Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Pecorino romano.
Yum and Yum.
Tonight's was Sausage and Leek Risotto. I virtually followed the guidelines as above...but I messed up slightly....I cooked the sausage, rendering out the fat. I forgot to remove it and just tossed in the leeks....oops, but it was good.
Here's the risotto in the early stage, step 3. Before the wine I forgot to add.
1/2 lb sausage
1 1/2 leeks, trimmed and rinsed and sliced thinnly
1 TB olive oil
1 cup Arborio rice
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Red pepper flakes
6 cups Swanson's Chicken Broth, low sodium
1 TB butter
3/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
There you have it. I'm tired and need to go to bed....!
7 comments:
"Hi Scott."
Thanks for the great tips. Lidia is such a great, accessible cook. And it's hilarious how she never lets her son do anything on the show!
This was SO very good. I wanted to eat much more than I could.
"Hi Scott" I'm T and I'm addicted to breakfast buffets and penny slots.
Hello T, welcome! let's begin our affirmations.
I've found the best sweet Italian sausage out here at a little Italian mom & pop shop. And since I'm on a risotto kick, too, this might be the next one. Looks great.
Also, a question about risotto -- I've found that not all arborio rice is the same. The stuff I got at Whole Foods was unbelievable, larger grains, pure white. The stuff I got a the regular grocery store had smaller grains, and specks of black -- almost looking like wild rice? I can't imagine it's the difference between organic and non organic. You have a preferable brand?
Oy! Blogger was slow...took me ten minutes to get this comment window opened. Blech!
Jon: I love the stuff from Whole Foods, but I don't get there very often and had to find what I could at Giant. I don't have a favorite brand, but right now I have a pretty good one. I think it's called "Stella" and it is a 5lb paper bag, sealed up with stitching. It was so much more affordable than smaller bags. And for us, for dinner, I just have to scoop out 1 cup of rice and move on. I haven't seen any Arborio that has specks in/on it. I have noticed the difference in grain size, but no noticable difference in taste or texture.
I prefer to get bulk sausage from Eastern Market, but since I haven't been down there for shopping in a while, I have to make do with what the Giant has, and sometimes that is only Jimmy Dean. If that's all they have, I try to save that for Sausage gravy and not something higher up the food chain like Risotto or a sauce. That said, when it comes to 'prepared' sausage, in casings, the variety at Giant are awful. So, Jimmy Dean is better.
Scotte, you beautiful bastard. Why do you keep posting such wonderful, calorie-laden recipes?
Cooking Roommate and I made this last night (last minute decision- I was in the produce section wavering between leeks for this or butternut squash for another risotto, but decided to try something new). "Delicious" doesn't even come close. I added some sauteed shallots, because I think everything tastes better with shallots, and I think next time I'd use less crushed red pepper. But otherwise, it was a triumph. Great recommendation!
Post a Comment