Who said that making beautifully creamy risotto required constant attention, continuous stirring and regular additions of stock?
Nearly 20 years ago, when we opened Brasserie Flipp, I put risotto on the menu. I wanted to make the rich Italian risottos that I had read about and that no one I knew seemed to be cooking. Night after night, guests sent back their lovingly made creamy, parmesan-laden risottos because the dish wasn’t stirfried with peas and carrots, which was then the norm.
Despondent, I dropped it from the menu a year later, only to be presented with a petition from a small number of guests who wanted a return of “the Flipp Gluggy Rice”. It’s evidence of how far our food culture has come that so many people are now experts in making risotto.
A few years later, I hosted Gabrielle Ferron, the Italian grower of the carnaroli rice I was using, at a special dinner that featured his own risotto. Despite his apparent lack of English, he was able to dispel many of the risotto-making myths that I had laboured under: that the dish required constant attention, continuous stirring and the addition of the stock, ladle by ladle. Ferron’s method involved a long, slow toasting of the rice, after which he added all the stock. This method allows the rice to absorb the liquid without being disturbed by constant stirring.
His method is part of my basic recipe, which will give you perfect risotto in 15-18 minutes. You can then adapt the recipe by adding other ingredients of your choice. Use either short-grain, arborio or carnaroli rice, and if you don’t want to use meat stock, substitute water flavoured with any of the trimmings of the main ingredient you wish to add.
When making risotto, do not wash the rice before cooking as this will remove some of the lovely starch that helps to thicken it. When finished, the risotto should be creamy and loose, and will settle after about 15 seconds.
RISOTTO – A BASE RECIPE
600ml chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
500g carnaroli or arborio rice
1 bay leaf
160ml dry white wine or vermouth
salt and freshly ground black pepper
parmesan cheese to taste
Put the stock into a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. When it is warm, stir in the butter until melted. Add the onion and gently sauté until it is soft and shiny but without colour. Lower the heat and add the rice. Stir continuously to coat all the grains. As the rice gently toasts, it will start to give off delicate nutty and floral aromas. This should take about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf, then stir in the white wine or vermouth, continuing to stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Pour on all the simmering stock, stir well, then cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 13 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the rice. Test a little – it should still be a little firm to the bite. Add salt and black pepper to taste. At this point, you could serve the risotto, adding parmesan cheese to taste as you wish. To make it creamier, stir vigorously just before serving. Alternatively, you can add another flavouring and cook the base for a further 3 minutes.
CAULIFLOWER RISOTTO
½ cauliflower, chopped into florets
200ml cream
100ml chicken stock or water
parmesan cheese to sprinkle
olive oil
Place the cauliflower, cream and stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook until the cauliflower is soft, then transfer the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Purée until very smooth, then stir the purée into the risotto. If you have any uncooked cauliflower left over, grate and stir it through. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil if desired.
IN CHINA, CONGEE is served for either breakfast or supper. Redolent of ginger and soy sauce, congee is the ultimate restorative and, with its porridge-like consistency, it really is gluggy rice. It is easy to make because the aim is to overcook the rice, releasing the starch and causing it to thicken. You can’t go wrong. Start with this basic recipe and add other ingredients once it has cooked. Congee could well be the new risotto.
RICE CONGEE WITH CHICKEN AND OYSTERS
½ cup short-grain rice
1 litre chicken stock or water
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp chopped ginger
4 tsp soy sauce
4 tbsp fish sauce
1 cooked chicken, shredded, and any
reserved juices
12 raw oysters, drained of their juices
1 spring onion, finely sliced on the
diagonal
Cook the rice in the stock or water for 2 hours until it collapses and becomes creamy – it should have a similar texture to porridge. Add the seasonings. Stir in the chicken and some of the juices. Just before serving, add the oysters, heating through until they are tight and plump. Pour the congee into serving bowls and garnish with spring onion.
Serves 4-6.