Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
soft starch leaks out and thickens the stock, forming what my friend the food and wine
writer Matt Kramer calls "the sauce within." Generally, Arborio and Carnaroli, which are
graded superfino, are a little higher in amylose (though certainly not nearly as high as
long-grain rice). Therefore, they remain a little firmer, although they also tend to be a little
stickier (particularly Arborio). Vialone Nano, which is fino, is a little softer and thickens
the stock a little less, making it perfect for the slightly soupier style of risotto preferred in
Venice. (Locals refer to that texture as aII'onda, meaning it moves "like a wave.")
More important than which specific type of rice you use is the technique and the balance
of ingredients. With risotto, the rice is the thing, and you don't want to overshadow it.
One of the most common mistakes people make when fixing risotto is in the choice of li-
quid they add. Partly this is a misunderstanding of terms: Americans tend to use the words
"broth" and "stock" interchangeably, but an Italian brodo is much lighter in flavor than
what we normally think of. Make risotto with a French-style stock, and stock is all you
will taste. It would be better to use plain water. Although a good homemade stock will
certainly make an exquisite risotto, you can do amazingly well with store-bought chicken
broth thinned with water (do not use it straight). If you have trimmings from the main in-
gredient -say, asparagus peels, pea pods or shrimp shells -simmer them in the broth to add
more flavor.
The making of risotto can be broken into four stages. An Italian cook I worked with gave
them the names of the appropriate infinitive verbs, making a recitation sound like one of
Dante's cantos: soffriggere, tostare, bagnare, mantecare (the four circles of risotto). This
is much more impressive in Italian than in English. It really only describes four very basic
operations: creating the flavor base (soffriggere, "to softly fry"), toasting the rice (tostare,
"to toast"), cooking the rice (bagnare, "to bathe") and beating in the final addition of butter
and cheese (mantecare, "to beat in fat" - what a joyous language to have a specific word
for that).
We'll take one step at a time. All risottos start with some kind of flavor base, frequently
nothing more than onions and butter or olive oil melted together over medium-low heat.
You can add firm vegetables such as artichokes or the fat parts of asparagus at this point
as well. Cook just until the ingredients start to shine. Do not let the onions brown.
Add the rice and stir to coat it with the flavoring base. Increase the heat to medium and
keep stirring until you hear the rice "singing" as it scrapes against the bottom of the pan.
This step sets the outer shell of the rice (mainly amylose) so that it will stay firm and won't
get too mushy. You can actually see this happening: the outer perimeter of the kernel will
turn translucent.
