Parmesan Risotto

Risotto is a short grain rice dish originating in Italy. It is creamy, rich and delicious. The key to getting good risotto is by slowly adding hot stock and stirring frequently, almost constantly. Stirring activates the starches in the rice making it creamy. It is also so important to only add 1-2 ladles of hot stock at a time for it to properly cook and release it’s starches. Don’t rush the process!

Also note you may not use all the stock that you heat up, it is good to add extra, but stop when the rice is done – it will be creamy, all the bright white will be cooked out of the grain, and have a small bite but not a “raw” bite to it.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/2 onion minced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup white wine, I like Sauvignon blanc
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 quart to 1.5 quarts chicken stock
• 4 tbsp butter
• shredded parmesan cheese to taste
• parsley for garnish

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Prepare your pots – one pot for heating up hot stock and one for risotto. Heat your stock and set aside with a lid on it. In your risotto pot heat to medium heat, add olive oil, add onions and sweat, salt as you go. Once the onions are cooked through, around 5 minutes, add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and immediately add your rice. Begin stirring and let the rice soak up the wine.

STEP 2.

Once the rice soaks up the wine, add 1 ladles of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir continuously. Make sure the heat is on a medium to low simmer, not boiling. Boiling will result in uneven cooking. Risotto is a low and slow kind of process. Once all the liquid is soaked up by the rice continue the process by adding 2 more ladles and stirring. You will continue doing this until the rice is cooked through – around 30 minutes DONT RUSH IT! Make sure you salt as you go and taste the salt levels. You know the rice is done when it is slightly al dente but not raw – there will no longer be a bright white look to the rice like it had before.

STEP 3.

Turn off the heat and stir in 3-4 tbsp of butter. Then stir in parmesan to taste. Immediately serve and garnish with parsley!