When I was a child, we had risotto every week, and it’s still one of my favorite things to make for family meals. It’s one of those dishes that can be either simple—made with only a few ingredients right out of the pantry—or a feast unto itself. Vegetables, mushrooms, seafood, meat…everything’s good in risotto. You can create a dish with a new personality each time, all using the same basic technique.
The key to perfectly cooked risotto is in drawing out the starches stored in the rice kernels a bit at a time, while the kernels cook and slowly absorb liquid and flavor. A few simple steps during cooking will allow you to achieve the right balance of starch release and flavor absorption:
Serves 6
The flavor highlights of your risotto are ingredients that are either pre-cooked, or that cook quickly in the last few minutes of cooking the rice. Risotto is a good destination for leftover roasted or slow-cooked meats. Just shred them and add to heat through and to allow the flavors to blend with the rice. That said, chunky add-ins are not a must.
Prepare your choice of meat and vegetable add-ins (see options below) as directed.
Choose 1 or 2 add-ins (optional)
You can use plain water, but broth makes risotto more interesting. As a general rule, you should prepare about three and a half times as much liquid as rice. You might not need all of it, depending on the pan and the intensity of the heat.
Bring 7 cups of liquid (see options below) almost to a boil in a large pot. Reduce the heat to very low; the liquid should stay hot but not simmer.
Choose one liquid
![]() Vegetable broth |
![]() Chicken broth |
![]() Beef broth |
![]() Fish broth |
![]() Water |
Heat 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-duty 3- to 4-quart straight-sided sauté pan at least 10 inches wide or in a similar-size Dutch oven. Add 2 cups of aromatics (see options below) and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, and cook slowly, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, lower the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking until the water is completely gone and the aromatics are soft and glistening but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes more.
Choose 1 to 3 aromatics for a total of 2 cups
![]() Onions, chopped medium-fine |
![]() Shallots, chopped medium-fine |
![]() Leeks, chopped medium-fine |
Use Italian short-grain rice varieties such as Arborio or Carnaroli. They’re shorter and plumper than long-grain rice and have considerably more starch. The starch is released during cooking, creating the distinctively soft, creamy texture of great risotto. The rice is stirred in with the sweated aromatics and coated with oil or butter—a process called “toasting,” which forms a capsule around the kernels that prevents too much liquid from being absorbed too fast.
Add 2 cups risotto rice to the pan and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, to coat the rice with the oil, about 3 minutes. Toasted rice should still be white and glistening, but you should hear a clicking sound when you stir it.
Pour in 1 cup dry white wine and cook, stirring constantly, until it’s mostly absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes.
If you want, choose one or two ingredients to be the main flavor backdrop for your risotto.
If using a flavor foundation (optional, see choices below), stir it into the rice now. For saffron and dried mushrooms, add the soaking liquid too (which means you may not need all of your broth).
Choose 1 or 2 flavor foundations (optional)
If the pot of hot broth (or water) isn’t already next to the risotto pan, move it to an adjacent burner now. Ladle 1-1/2 to 2 cups hot liquid to barely cover the rice and stir constantly. Add 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and keep stirring. When all the liquid has been absorbed—and the rice is dry enough that your stirring spoon leaves a trail showing the bottom of the pot—ladle in another cup of liquid, again stirring until it’s all absorbed. Continue adding liquid in 1 cup increments, always stirring, until the rice is nearly but not fully al dente; this is usually 12 to 16 minutes after the first addition of liquid.
When the risotto is a few minutes away from al dente, add your prepped meat or vegetable add-ins. Continue stirring and ladling liquid as the rice cooks.
Many people think that only butter can properly finish risotto. While it certainly makes risotto creamier and, well, buttery, I think olive oil gives a cleaner, more pristine finish, and I prefer it on seafood and vegetable risottos.
After the addition of at least 5 cups of liquid (16 to 20 minutes from the first liquid addition), taste the rice to determine whether it’s al dente and pleasantly creamy. If it is, remove it immediately from the heat. Otherwise, let it cook a little longer, incorporating more liquid (up to a total of 7 cups). Stir in 1/2 to 1-1/2 cups grated cheese (optional; see choices below), 2 to 3 Tbs. unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil, and any additional finishes of your choice (see options below), taste and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve the risotto immediately.
![]() Parmigiano Reggiano |
![]() Grana Padano |
![]() Pecorino romano or toscano |
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