Each national cuisine has its ownfeatures, its own zest, and, of course, each nation values its own dishes. But there are recognized leaders in the world of haute cuisine, a kind of kings of culinary podiums. Italian cuisine certainly belongs to them. It is known, loved and appreciated all over the world. Over the past decade, Italian restaurants have taken a worthy place in the Russian space. The dishes that came to us from sunny Italy are light, tasty and healthy. Today we present one of the iconic Italian dishes - risotto. Why this particular dish? Firstly, because of its popularity. Secondly, because of its versatility. Having mastered the basic rules for preparing this unique pilaf, you will be able to regularly delight your loved ones with new varieties of risotto with various fillings. If you know, for example, how to cook risotto with mushrooms, then you can easily improvise, using other additions. So, let's begin. There are several fundamental things, without knowing which it is impossible to cook the right dish. These are the subtleties and details that may seem insignificant at first glance, but in fact play a very important role. If we talk about risotto, then for a real Italian risotto you need to choose the right rice. Starchy varieties such as Arborio, Carnaroli and Vialone nano are ideal for this dish. They all have that creamy taste that distinguishes risotto from simply cooked rice. And, what is very important, having a high absorption capacity, these types of rice do not turn into mush. If, of course, you know all the technological subtleties of making risotto. True, these are quite expensive products. Fortunately, at present, our supermarkets offer a huge assortment of different types of rice, so it is quite possible to find suitable cereals in a cheaper price segment.
Basic Risotto Recipe
Products:
- 500 grams of rice
- about 1.5 liters of broth (it can be chicken, beef, vegetable)
- 3 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion
- 150 milliliters of white wine
- cream
- Parmesan
Method of preparation:
Risotto is served piping hot,should never be prepared in advance, otherwise the dish will lose its amazing creamy taste Of course, this is just a base, the real taste qualities are formed by the ingredients that can be added to the risotto prepared in the above way. Mushroom addition to risotto:
- Mushrooms cut and fry in olive oil, along with onions and grated carrots. Salt and pepper to taste, add a teaspoon of butter and a little sour cream, put out for 5-7 minutes.
- Before serving, you can mix mushrooms with risotto, you can serve everything in a separate pot - according to the principle of Azerbaijani pilaf: separately rice and separately all the other ingredients that are included in pilaf.
Spinach Gorgonzola Cheese Supplement:
- Spinach washed, remove hard stems, dried on a paper towel.
- Olive oil to warm up in a frying pan, put the chopped garlic and spinach, cook for 2-3 minutes, add mashed gorgonzol (or other cheese with mildew) and mix.
- Connect to the ready risotto.
Chicken Breast Supplement:
- The breast should be washed, dried and cut into thin strips.
- Fry the finely chopped onions and grated carrots with olive oil.
- Put the prepared chicken meat in a frying pan to the onions and carrots and fry them all together on high heat for 5-7 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg.
- Mix with risotto. Sprinkle finely chopped green onions.
Risotto with shrimps
Prepare rice according to the basic recipe.Fry chopped garlic, crushed fresh ginger root, allspice in heated olive oil. Then add prepared shrimp and fry everything together over high heat for 3 minutes. At the end, add soy sauce, a little lemon juice, salt to taste. Serve with risotto, placing shrimp on top. You can sprinkle with fresh herbs, finely chopped green onions. Notes to the recipe:
- The right risotto directly depends on the qualityrice - it should contain a lot of starch. It is starch that gives the dish that velvety and tender taste that true gourmets value so much.
- Used only hot broth, otherwise the dish will not have the right consistency and taste.
- How to cook risotto with vegetables? Everything is extremely simple: the basic recipe and in addition to it a wide variety of vegetables - carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, asparagus, green peas and others. Cook the vegetables the way you like.
- As a rule, salt is not put in the risotto, because it is always served with additives, including a fairly salty parmesan cheese, which has a very bright taste and perfectly complements the dish.
Improvise and create your own risotto recipe! We recommend reading: