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Risotto: A Classic Italian Risotto Recipe and Video

Around The World in 80 Dishes takes you to Italy with a demonstration of the simplest version of risotto, risotto alla Milanese, prepared by Chef Heinrich Rapp at The Culinary Institute of America


R isotto is Italy's most famous rice dish and when properly made it is one of the great glories of Italian cuisine. Describing risotto as a rice stew is technically correct, but it doesn't convey just how special it is. Risotto's seductive appeal is that it simultaneously encompasses two seemingly opposite, irresistible textures: creamy and al dente, which is the Italian expression for the toothsome bite that should remain in the rice (and more familiarly, in pasta) after cooking.

Risotto's unique texture is due to the type of short-grain rice that's used. The three most common varieties, Arborio, Vialone Nano, and Carnaroli (Carnaroli is thought to be the best), are rich in a form of starch—amylopectin—that breaks down during the cooking process, enriching and thickening the liquid surrounding the rice grains. The Po River Valley in northern Italy is the home of Europe's largest area of rice cultivation—no surprise, then, that risotto is considered a northern Italian specialty. Today, however, risotto can be found in every region in Italy.

America's love affair with northern Italian food in the 1970s and '80s sparked the rise of risotto in the United States. But even then, Americans were slow to adopt risotto at home compared with pasta, perhaps because of the common (and persistent) misconception that risotto is a time-consuming dish to prepare. While it does need to be stirred during cooking, the action doesn't have to be constant, just frequent. Considering the fact that the rice takes only about 20 minutes to go from raw to al dente, risotto counts as a fast weeknight supper option.

In our video, Culinary Institute of America Chef Heinrich Rapp demonstrates the simplest and easiest risotto, the classic risotto alla Milanese, golden with saffron and traditionally served with osso buco (braised veal shanks). Rapp begins and ends the cooking process with butter. He doesn't use a lot: just enough at first to coat the grains of rice without allowing them to brown (Rapp calls it "toasting the starch"), and then at the end, a bit more butter to finish the risotto and enhance its creamy quality.

Although there are a few basic rules to risotto, there is plenty of room for variation. Unlike many other rice dishes, risotto is cooked uncovered, and the liquid, in this case warm stock, is stirred into the rice in stages, not all at once. If you want to add some wine, add it in the beginning. Many recipes use chicken or a meat stock for the liquid, but you can also use water. Excluding the wine, the liquid should be at least warm if not hot, so that the risotto doesn't wait after each addition for the liquid to come to a simmer.

Stirring in a mere pinch of saffron threads with the first addition of stock turns Rapp's risotto a beautiful yellow and sends forth a lovely warm aroma, but the array of additions is endless. Skip the saffron and stir in seafood, meat, and/or vegetables and herbs, and you've got delicious risottos that are hearty enough to be the main course.

In contrast to some of the gloppy versions served in American restaurants today, Rapp points out that risotto should be a little runny—in Italy they describe it as all'onda (wavy)—and he shakes a plate of risotto to show just how loose that is. Risotto thickens as it cools, so gather your diners and serve it right away, while it's still hot and able to spread out on the serving plates.

What's the proper way to eat risotto? Rapp demonstrates that, too. Start at the edge, where it cools off the fastest, and work your way in. Buon appetito!

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