Risotto

One of my all time favorite dishes is risotto. I don't often order it in restaurants because I worry it wont be up to snuff. In most restaurants they tend to take short cuts with risotto, and while it can still be good,  believe me, you can make better at home!  Risotto is one of simplest dishes you can cook, which is not to say it is simple, but I think with a little care anyone can master this satisfying dish. Do not believe that you must constantly stir the risotto. You should watch it and stir often but not all the time.

During the year I try to roast the occasional free range farmers market chicken. When done eating the chicken, I always make stock with the carcass, adding an onion, carrot, celery stick, and some herbs if I have any around. Using just the left over chicken with bones would be quite sufficient if no vegetables are around. If you roast 3 or 4 chickens a year this should give you enough stock to last you a while. Do not buy canned stock. You are better off using plain water.

Take chicken carcass and put in a pot (with vegetables or not), cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer, top off or at least ajar, for about an hour or so. The stock should be strained to keep out the large bits. Put it in the fridge, and the next day skim off any fat that has accumulated. Freeze until needed.

Start by bringing the stock to a simmer and salt it to taste. While the stock is heating, finely chop a small onion, shallot, or leek (depends whats in season and what you can find at the market) and saute over medium heat (don't let it brown) in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (365 Whole Foods Italian is an excellent cheap oil) or butter, or a combination. Butter will make the dish richer, so consider what ingredient or ingredients you will be adding later.  The best part about risotto is that you can add literally anything to it. See what leftovers you have in the fridge. Maybe some of the shredded chicken from the carcass, an old carrot, squid, shrimp, peas, bacon, ham etc. The risotto pictured is with carrot and chard, made with shallot and Vialone Nano rice from Italy.

2nd addition of stock

The occasional stir

After about 4-5 minutes the onion will be soft  and translucent, so add some rice (please try to find Vialone Nano or Carnaroli, otherwise arborio will do in a pinch). I never measure, but if you are cooking for two, 2/3 cup will be enough. Pour the rice in and start stirring to coat the rice with the oil. Keep stirring frequently about 4-5 minutes. Again, do not let the rice brown. After about 4-5 minutes the rice will start turning a bit opaque and at this point I usually add some very cold white wine (sometimes I add red, you decide) which shocks the pan and the rice. How much wine? Maybe 1/2 a cup, but don't skimp, and don't use any wine you would not drink! Again, I never measure. The wine should be bubbling (if not turn the heat up just a bit) and you should be stirring a fair amount. Once the wine almost evaporates start adding some of the hot stock. I use almost a full ladle for the first addition and from then on I use about half a ladle full. After the first addition of stock shake the pan or give it a stir and you can leave it alone for a couple minutes. Give it a stir occasionally and when the most recent addition of stock is almost evaporated, add a small ladle full. Keep repeating this process until the rice is al dente. If you are going to add ingredients that need a bit of cooking, then add them after the third or fourth addition of liquid. If the ingredients added are not in need of further cooking you can add them when the risotto is almost done. I added the chopped carrots about 10 minutes in, and the chard near the end, about 20 minutes in. The bits of green in picture #1 are some bottom leaves of a romanesco I had. I added those early because they needed a bit ore cooking, like the carrotts.

Usually, when the rice is done, I will turn the flame off and add a smaller amount of liquid and stir. In this case I also added a small pat of butter which gave a  little richness to the dish. At this point you can add some freshly grated grana or parmesan, salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some grated cheese once the rice has been plated, along with a few good turns of the pepper mill and some good sea salt on top.

Flame off, a little liquid added and a pat of butter stirred in

Plated with grated grana, black cypress salt and generous lashings of freshly ground black pepper