The Perfect Risotto Takes Time
RECIPES

The Perfect Risotto Takes Time

Ready IN
40 mins
Servings
4-6
Save
By Patty Catalano
Updated:
Risotto is a dish that is sure to impress. It’s one of Italy’s quintessential dishes, made from short grain rice, savory broth, and nutty Parmesan cheese. While restaurants would love to keep you under their spell with their risottos, this dish is actually very simple (and much more affordable) to make at home. Risotto’s luxuriously creamy consistency comes from the technique of slowly adding broth and coaxing the starches from the rice, and not from the addition of heavy cream. If you’ve always wanted to make risotto at home, we have the only recipe you’ll ever need.

Why You’ll Love It

  • You need just six ingredients. Rice, onion, white wine, butter, chicken broth, and Parmesan cheese transform into the most elegant comfort food you can imagine.

  • The technique is simple. Making risotto isn’t difficult; it just takes some time. All you have to do is slowly add warm broth to the rice as it’s cooking and stir until it is absorbed and pulls the starches from the rice to thicken the broth.

Key Ingredients in Risotto

  1. Rice: Arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano are short-grain rice varieties used for making risotto.

  2. White wine: Choose a dry white wine to deglaze the pan. The bottle doesn’t have to be expensive, but should be one you’d enjoy drinking on its own.

  3. Chicken broth: Use low-sodium store-bought broth or make your own chicken stock. Use low-sodium vegetable broth instead to make this risotto vegetarian.

  4. Parmesan cheese: Use good-quality Parmesan cheese for its nutty, salty flavor, and make sure to shower each serving with even more cheese.

Storage and Reheating Tips

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  • Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days.

  • To reheat: Add more broth to loosen to desired consistency and warm in the microwave or over medium-low heat on the stovetop. Risotto’s consistency can turn grainy and unpleasant when frozen, so freezing risotto is not recommended.

The Perfect Risotto Takes Time
Patty Catalano
Time
40 mins
(Prep 10 minsCook 30 mins)
Servings
4-6
Ingredients
Risotto
  • 2 (32-ounce) cartons low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (8 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced (1/2 cup)
  • 2 cups arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano rice
  • 1/2 white wine dry white wine
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces), plus more for serving
Instructions
Bring two (32-ounce) cartons low-sodium chicken broth to a bare simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce the heat as needed to maintain the bare simmer.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a large, high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1/2 finely diced small yellow onion and sauté until softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in 2 cups arborio rice. Continue to stir and cook until the outside is translucent but the center is opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup dry white wine and cook, stirring constantly, until the wine has evaporated and the pan is almost dry, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Begin adding the warm broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Wait until the broth has been almost completely absorbed by the rice before adding more broth. After about 12 minutes, stir in 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and begin tasting the rice to determine doneness.
Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice is al dente, the broth is creamy, and the dish has the consistency of thick porridge, 20 to 25 minutes total. You might not use all of the broth. If you run your spatula through the risotto, the risotto should flow slowly to fill in the space.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese and the remaining 1 tablespoon unsalted butter until melted. Taste and season with more kosher salt as needed. Serve immediately, garnishing each bowl with more Parmesan cheese.
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Author
Patty Catalano is a contributor to TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to [email protected]. Copyright 2022 Apartment Therapy. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.