A well-made risotto is a culinary feat: Small, firm grains of rice float, suspended, in a rich, creamy sauce. When scooped onto a shallow plate or bowl, a good risotto should have a loose consistency, rippling into a tight pool on the plate (it should not be soupy, though). As the Italians say, it should be all’onda, or “with waves.” Unfortunately, many cooks (home and professional) make risottos that are too thick and dense, more like a porridge. But preparing a successful risotto is actually easier to accomplish than you may imagine. It involves no special tricks, just careful observation (and a lot of stirring). Allow your senses—taste, sight, and smell—to tell you when it’s done. The type of rice is critical to the dish. Italian rices, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano, are the best choices for the particular composition of starches risotto requires. During cooking, the soft starch on the outside of the grains readily dissolves to form the intrinsic creaminess, while the inside remains al dente (firm “to the tooth”), giving risotto its characteristic bite. Because its flavor will permeate the dish, the liquid used is equally important, and what you use should depend on what else is being added to the dish. Many recipes call for chicken or vegetable stock, but these can prove too overpowering, especially when the dish will be simply seasoned with a handful each of cheese and herbs, as in the recipe below. So instead, the recipe calls for a simple broth that incorporates some of the ingredients used to flavor the dish, here celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and parsley. Likewise, for a shrimp risotto, you could make a broth by combining the shells with lemons and herbs; or you could sauté or roast the bones from meat, fish, or chicken and then simmer them with water. If you prefer deeper flavor, follow this same principle to enrich existing chicken or vegetable stocks for using in risotto. Making a risotto is a lot like making a stew: First, you begin by sautéing an aromatic ingredient. Then the rice is stirred in and toasted to give it a nutty flavor (similar to pilafs) and to loosen some of its starch. After a few minutes, as you stir, the grains eventually become slightly more translucent and they begin making a clicking noise, which tells you it’s time to add the wine. When the wine is stirred in, the rice releases a bit more starch, turning the liquid slightly milky, a sign of the creaminess to come. Once the wine is absorbed, the stock is added, ladleful by ladleful. Near-constant stirring will ensure that the rice cooks evenly and helps release the soft starch on the outside of the grains. The final step of any great risotto is to “mount” it with butter, which gives the risotto richness, and to add in any final seasonings (in this case, grated cheese, freshly ground pepper, and parsley), just before serving. In certain regions of northern Italy, the risotto method is used to cook other grains, such as farro, an ancient grain with a nutty taste. It will produce a dish with a slightly chewier and less creamy texture (see the farro variation with wild mushroom see below).

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　

For stock

1 celery stalk (preferably from the heart), cut in half crosswise

　　1 medium carrot, cut in half crosswise

　　1/2 small onion, peeled

　　1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled

　　1 sprig flat-leaf parsley

　　7 cups water, or half water and half Basic Chicken Stock (page 41)

　　

For aromatic

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　1/2 small onion, cut into fine dice (about 1/3 cup)

　　

For risotto

1 cup medium-grain Italian rice, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano

　　1/3 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

　　

For finishing

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

　　Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

　　Chopped flat-leaf parsley

　　

Step 1

Make stock Combine stock ingredients in a 4-quart stockpot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to the lowest setting to keep stock hot but not evaporating.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, cook aromatic and toast rice In another 4-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion until translucent, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn translucent (rice will start making a clicking sound), 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat if onion begins to brown.

　　

Step 3

Add wine and stock Pour in wine and cook, stirring, just until absorbed (rice should still be wet and glistening, not dry). Using a ladle, add 1/2 cup hot stock to the rice. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, at a moderate speed, until about three-quarters of the liquid is absorbed (the mixture should be thick enough to hold a trail behind the spoon). Continue adding stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring frequently until rice is almost translucent (the rice should be al dente but not crunchy, and liquid is creamy in consistency). As rice nears doneness, watch carefully and add smaller amounts of liquid to make sure it doesn’t overcook (you may not need to use all the broth). The process should take 20 to 25 minutes total.

　　

Step 4

Finish and serve Stir in the butter until completely melted (this is called mounting), then stir in cheese and season with salt. Garnish with parsley and pepper and serve immediately.

　　

Farro Risotto with Wild Mushrooms

Step 5

Trim 1/2 pound mixed wild mushrooms (such as oyster, shiitake, and hen of the woods) and halve if large. Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add half the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, about 7 minutes. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper and transfer to a bowl. Repeat with 2 more tablespoons oil, remaining mushrooms, and more salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve. Follow the above recipe, using the same proportions of ingredients, but substitute farro for the rice to make risotto (including the stock) and cook for about the same amount of time; the farro should be tender but still firm to the bite (the indentation in the grain will have puffed up). Serve, topped with mushroom mixture.

　　

Risotto Tips

Step 6

Never rinse the rice, since the starch is essential to the dish.

　　

Step 7

Do not rush the process or skip any steps, since each one contributes to the final outcome. Sauté the onion until golden (but not browned, or it will be bitter), toast the rice until nutty and fragrant, cook the wine until it has completely absorbed, and then gradually add the stock, allowing each addition to be almost absorbed before adding more.

　　

Step 8

When adding the broth, stir frequently to ensure even cooking and to help coax the starch out of the rice. You can certainly step away for a minute or so now and then, but be sure to scrape across the bottom of the pot when you resume to make sure that nothing is sticking (and then scorching). Don’t stir too vigorously, or the risotto can become slightly gluey; stirring too slowly or infrequently will make it watery.

　　

Step 9

Don’t overcook; the rice is nearly done when it has just a small, firm bite in the center, and this is the point that you should remove the pot from the heat. The rice will continue to cook, so you don’t want to take it too far. If desired, you can adjust the consistency by thinning the risotto with a bit of stock after the butter and cheese have been added.

　　Reprinted with permission from Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook by Martha Stewart. Copyright © 2008 by Martha Stewart. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Martha Stewart is the author of dozens of bestselling books on cooking, entertaining, gardening, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of The Martha Stewart Show, the Emmy-winning, daily national syndicated program, and founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which publishes several magazines, including Martha Stewart Living; produces Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112 on SIRIUS Satellite Radio; and provides a wealth of ideas and information on www.marthastewart.com.