Risotto in 30 Minutes: Yes Sir & No Stir

A perfect, creamy risotto is both elegant and elusive, which makes it a popular dish to order in a restaurant. Once you make this easy, quick recipe adapted from my cooking class in Verona, Italy, it will become a family favorite. Not only is it basically NO stir, it is NO oil! In order to create the creamy texture, you beat the rice in the pot (a process called mantecatura) which activates the starch to create the creaminess. This is a great meal for going meatless and for a hearty meal during a cold winter day.


Ingredients for Mushroom Risotto: 
Total cooking time 20-25 minutes serves 4

1.5 cups rice the very best is Acquerello brand of carnaroli rice about $15 for a 17 ounce can or arborio rice easier to find and less expensive. You can not use regular rice!!

1 cup dry white wine room temp (chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc not chardonnay).

4 cups heated chicken stock in a pot (may not use it all).

1 cup mushrooms chopped and fried in a separate pan add before serving.

Method:

In a non-stick dry frying pan at medium heat, fry the rice dry until warm. Don't brown or burn! Add the wine to the rice and stir with a spatula to mix it. Wait until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Keeping the chicken stock warm in the pot, using a ladle, add one or two ladles of stock to the rice. Stir to mix into rice.

Leave it to absorb, repeat this until the 4 cups of the stock are nearly completely absorbed by the rice. Test the rice before the end of the stock is used up to see if it is ready. It will have a little bite to eat not completely soft.  You may not use all the stock.

The last step is to remove the rice to a steel pot and with the ladle, beat the rice by whipping it with the ladle. It is metal on metal. Important. This will not break up the rice, just make it creamy. About 1 minute beat it. You will see it change color to creamy and the texture will become creamy. Add the mushrooms and serve! So easy.

Options: add grated cheese before serving; add a pinch of saffron to the chicken stock; or, substitute any vegetable for the mushrooms just add after the "beating."

My Creamy Mushroom Risotto no oil or cream added.

Fry chopped mushrooms separately and add to risotto before serving.

Fry dry rice until warm in non stick frying pan the large cook surface allows liquid
to absorb quickly.

After one minute beating or mantecatura.

Before the beating - no cream.

Best rice to purchase. Used in this recipe. Click here to purchase on Amazon:
Acquerello Rice on Amazon