Risotto is a creamy and delicious first course and it can be prepared in many delicious ways. It is so versatile. It’s my kind of comfort food 😋
Most people think risotto is difficult to make and time consuming but it doesn’t take more than maximum a half an hour to cook and is simply delicious.
Risotto is more about the technique than the dish. Once you get a feel for the basic steps of making the soffrito, toasting the rice, and adding in the broth a scoop at a time, a whole world of dishes opens up. You can add veggies, fish, meat, or any other combination of flavors and textures that you like.
Risotto cannot be done with any type of rice. Arborio and carnaroli are the most common of risotto rice and readily available at most markets.
First thing, I had prepared a broth from veggies: carrots, celery, onions and I have added crab meat to flavour it. You can also prepare your stock in advance or you may buy it but is very easy to do it. I have added the crab meat for flavour but if you cook a veggie risotto then of course no need of fish taste in it 😊
And because I wanted something different, instead of doing a normal soffritto, the veggies from the stock I have pureed them with a blender and I have used them instead of soffritto.
In a sauté pan, melt some butter over medium heat. Add the pureed veggies and a pinch of salt and cook about 1-2 minutes. Add the rice and stir until every grain is coated with the butter and veggies. Continue stirring the rice for about 2 minutes. Add a splash of white wine that will add another layer of flavor and help lift up any bits that have caramelized to the pan. Add the wine, and simmer, stirring constantly, until the wine has completely reduced and the pan is nearly dry, about 3 minutes.
Add the crab meat and begin incrementally adding the broth a little bit each time, stirring regularly between additions. Wait until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle; don’t rush this step as ideally, you want to use just enough broth to cook the rice and no more. Continue adding broth until the rice is al dente and the broth is creamy. Begin tasting the rice after about 12-15 minutes to see how far it has cooked. The risotto is ready when the rice is al dente (when it still has a bit of chew) and the dish has the consistency of thick porridge, 20 to 30 minutes maximum and you might not use up all of the broth. If you run your spatula through the risotto, the risotto will flow slowly to fill in the space.
As a final step, add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of butter if desired and grated parmesan cheese to enrich the risotto and make it extra-creamy and silky.
Serve the risotto immediately. Don’t let it stand, as the more the starches will set, you’ll lose the creamy silkiness.
Enjoy it!
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