But perfecting the art of making a risotto can be tricky, even for the most confident and ‘celebrated’ home chefs.
According to Alison Roman at Bon Appétit that may very well be because many of the ‘tricks’ we’ve been taught about making risotto are in fact hindering – rather than helping – our culinary success.
For example, while many of us have learned that constant stirring is the key to making risotto, Alison says this technique often leads to a “gluey” consistency. Instead she advises stirring often but not continuously to give the rice (and your arms) a break.
Alison also advises to keep your stock at a simmer while adding it to the rice, so that it absorbs the liquid quickly and consistently.
“Adding chilly stock to a hot pan will cool everything down and mess up the cooking process,” she writes. “Keep stock at a simmer in a small pan so everything stays hot and cooks evenly.”
Like all good home chefs, enjoying a glass of wine while we cook seems to make the whole process so much more civilised, so our top risotto recipe tip is to add a dash of good quality, textural white wine – like a Chardonnay, Viognier or Roussanne – to your stock as it simmers.
This will add a lovely depth of flavour to the final dish… and gives you an excellent excuse to open that nice bottle of white mid-week.
This wild mushroom and thyme risotto recipe pairs beautifully with our Yalumba’s Eden Valley Roussanne and is so simple to cook, you can make it any night of the week.