Risotto, method.

Nobody celebrates food like the Italians

That sounds really fascinating deeda.

Bellanonna we have been to the rice festival several times (we've got friends who live just up the road in Bovolone) It's great fun, all the shops are decorated and everything you can think of is made of rice.

I used to make risotto rather infrequently because of the time spent stirring, but now we have it regularly, probably once or twice a fortnight at least. Why? Because I bought an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker and it has changed my life. Press the sauté button to fry onions, chicken and garlic, together with pancetta/mushrooms/broccoli florets or whatever else you want to chuck in. Add wine, stock, rosemary or whatever herbs you fancy. Set to high pressure for 12 minutes and walk away. When it beeps, release pressure, stir in Parmesan cheese and serve. It is absolutely heavenly!

With a good non stick pan, I find that mine doesn't stick if I just give it the odd stir.

However just before all the stock is absorbed I do turn off the heat, put the lid on and leave it for 5 mins or so to absorb the rest. I do find a good big sauté pan with a lid essential..

Deedaa you can also buy it in Waitrose (and elsewhere no doubt). I googled Isola Della Scala and was interested to see they have a renowned rice festival every year. DH speaks some Veneto but has forgotten a lot - it was his childhood language. It's interesting how Italians keep their dialects alive - nothing to do with class, just a pride in their particular regions.

Bellanonna I dare not tell you how much I pay for a small bag of Vialone Nano from a small farm in Isola della Scala! But it keeps me happy

MargaretX I learnt to make risotto in the Veneto where they tend to produce a much drier version.

Thanks for the information on the oven method. I suspect I would forget to check the moisture content and end up with a risotto brick.

I'll stay with what I know. I can still find time to wash up and make a fruit salad as well as stirring the pot. I tastes OK and 30 minutes isn't a lifetime. Each to his/her own, though; if it works for you, that's what matters.

I tried making risotto in the actifry by putting everything in together and leaving it to it's own devices. DH was quite happy, said it tasted good but I think I should have upped the amount of liquid I started with. Certainly makes life easier though, so if he's happy.......

I use Uncle Ben's Risotto rice- I ordered risotto on holiday in Lugano and realised how it should really taste. Its quite sloppy, but very filling.
We don't eat it very often but when DD! had a large family party at a smart restaurant many guests were vegetarians and the second course was Risotto and it looked exactly like the one in Lugano.
I prefer my rice fried if its going to be a full meal with mushrooms and left over chicken etc.

Tks Monica, you sound a bit like me, but that gives me some idea. Deedaa I have used Vialone but tks quite expensive.

The reply I wrote yesterday has disappeared into the ether! So here's my twopennorth again. Ordinary long grain rice will make a very nice meal, but it won't be a risotto. If you can fin Vialone Nano rice (Waitrose or a Deli) it doesn't need stirring. When you've added the stock you can just leave it to simmer for 20 minutes. One espresso cup of rice per person. Everything else I do by eye so I can't tell you how much stock.

I am sorry I am one of those imprecise slap,slap slop cooks. I chuck some water in, enough to cover the rice plus, approximately an inch or so and put it in the oven/slow cooker and check it every half hour, adding more boiling water if I think it is needed.

Monica can you suggest how much liquid/how long in the oven? I did mine on the hob yesterday, all stock in together but when I went in to look it had begun to stick on the bottom despite there being liquid on top. So I stayed in the kitchen and stirred, although not nearly as much as I would with the traditional method. The end result was ok, just a bit different.

What you are missing, Cunco, is not doing all the other things you could be doing in the time you spend stirring.

The art of making risotto when you put all the stock in at once is not cooking it in the hob. You cook it in the oven or in a slow cooker. That way the rice doesn't stick to the pan.

I do use arborio - or pudding rice! - for risotto, but I also do a curried kedgeree with long grain where I add all the fishy stock at once, and TBH it's a very similar dish. It's delish and a v easy standby, since I nearly always have smoked haddock in the freezer.
In Sweden they do a very rich rice pudding at Christmas, and while a Swedish friend's son was living here he complained to his mother that he couldn't get the right rice. I told him to look for pudding rice, though it's not usually so easy to find now, and I daresay arborio would do as well - maybe it's much the same thing under a fancier name!

I make risotto like it says on the arborio pack, adding the stock gradually and stirring. If I don't stir, the rice sticks to the bottom of the pan. If I have to stir and it takes 20 minutes to cook, I don't see the advantage of pouring all the stock in at the start. What am I missing?

Sounds like a lovely savoury rice dish. However arborio rice, as used in risotto, absorbs the stock and the result is a creamy dish. Do try it.

Does it make any difference if you use the special Italian risotto rice? I've got a packet that I've never used, I've only ever used cheap long grain.
In olive oil gently cook chopped onion, add rice , stir for 1 min., add stock and simmer. Just before it's done add some peas, small tin of sweet corn etc. We have it with fish of some kind.

MawBroon if you open the tin, and it's empty, then it must be evaporated, hope this helps!

(Sorry, childish joke!)

I make it in my actifry. Risotto with small portobello mushrooms and chorizo is DH's favourite.

I always put all the ingredients in a cast-iron casserole, add all the stock, bring it to the boil and put in the oven.

Never had a problem and it tastes fine.

mawbroon I imagine your risotto was similar to a quiche I once bought at our local bakers.
The trainee chef had inadvertently used sweet pastry instead of the ordinary one.
When I politely mentioned it the next time I went in, the baker's wife looked suitably mortified. "Oh no not you as well!"

PS condensed is the one you use for Banoffi Pie

I start off with a wee tate, then bung in the lot! Works for me.

I would say, no need to stir frantically (indeed I believe Tonio would criticise anyone who said that!). Gentle, slow stirring, every few minutes is how I do it.