Recipe for the best risotto

Risotto for quality time. It's the kind of dish that's enjoyed when it needs to be a little extra delicious, a little extra cozy. Even if you don't have much time or money. It's the perfect dish to serve when you have your girlfriends over on a weekday evening. And it's the perfect dish to serve on a first date - because honestly: Who doesn't like risotto?! Risotto can be enjoyed all year round in different versions. With summer greens like asparagus and peas or risotto with mushrooms for autumn. This is a basic recipe that you can always start from - and a simple one at that. You can always add extra vegetables, meat or spices, depending on what you have, the season and your mood. 

TIP: Also try making this recipe for risotto in a dish. An incredibly easy recipe where everything is cooked in a dish without stirring.

How to make risotto?

The method for making risotto is super simple: sauté the onion and garlic before stirring in the rice. Then add the wine, simmer for a few minutes so the alcohol evaporates, before gradually adding the broth. Finally, add grated Parmesan (and possibly a little butter) before seasoning and serving. 

TIP: Use leftover risotto to make delicious risotto dishes.

 A delicious risotto should be neither firm nor runny. It should be creamy, but the rice should not be completely cooked. To achieve the perfect risotto consistency, it is important that you add the stock gradually. Add the stock so that the rice is just barely covered, and let the rice absorb the liquid before pouring the stock back over. This cooking method ensures that the rice releases starch, which is what gives you an extra delicious and creamy risotto with perfectly "al dente" rice. 

Ingredients

Risotto can be made in all sorts of variations. However, you should generally use the following basic ingredients:

• Rice - Preferably risotto rice (e.g. arborio) or alternatively brown rice.
• Onions and garlicshallot - Gives the risotto a good taste.
• White wine - Use a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. And of course a wine that you also want to drink with the food.
• Parmesan - Makes the risotto extra creamy and adds flavor.
• Olive oil and/or butter - Feel free to sauté the onion in olive oil but stir a little butter into the dish before serving as it gives a fantastic flavour. You can easily make do with one or the other.

TIP: Let the rind from the Parmesan cheese cook in the pan. It gives the dish a wonderful umami flavor. 

Which rice for risotto?

For a good risotto, you can't use all types of rice. Rice like basmati or jasmine is a no-go, because it will give a completely wrong consistency. The best rices are so-called "risottoris" of the arborio or carnaroli type. These are Italian varieties of short-grain rice that give the perfect creamy consistency without the rice being completely cooked. A cheaper and easily available alternative is brown rice. They have the same shape and starch content as risotto rice and will therefore also give an excellent consistency. 

TIP: If you want to make a delicious Italian dinner, you can choose to make a three-course menu with veal with tuna and foccacia bread as a starter. Also try serving this delicious fennel salad for the risotto.

Risotto with vegetables

There are several risotto recipes here on the blog - many in a modern version with extra vegetables. For example, try this carrot risotto or green risotto with spinach.