My Go-To Risotto

As I’ve written before, risotto is one of those dishes that most Americans were unaware of until relatively recently and thus tend to find intimidating. This one, as the title indicates, is my go-to risotto; when I’m in the mood for a risotto, this is the one I usually make. Except for the dried porcini mushrooms, none of the ingredients are particularly difficult to come by. If you can do a bit of multitasking, this is a one-pot meal* that can be cranked out in an hour or less. This amount serves two to three, but you could easily double the quantities for more people. There’s no formal recipe on this one, but I’ll list all of the ingredients at the end.

Step one is to prepare your broth. I’ve got four cups of chicken broth here (vegetable broth if you're nasty and/or vegetarian), which will be sufficient for 1 cup of Arborio rice. Most Italian cookbooks say three cups of liquid for each cup of rice, but I’ve always needed four. Of course, that may well be because I’m not doing this correctly. Whatever.

Now I’m going to add some flavor to the broth, a tip I stole from the obsessive-compulsive types over at Cook’s Illustrated: to the broth, I add a small handful of dried porcini mushrooms that I have rinsed first to remove any dirt; any dried mushrooms you can find will do, but if you don’t have any, don’t fret. Then add a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary (or thyme). I also add a small splash (maybe a teaspoon) of soy sauce. None of this is required, and indeed, you could use plain broth or even just salted water if you had to.

Bring the broth to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are completely soft. Then drop the heat to low to keep the broth warm until you need it.

Meanwhile, trim about ½ pound of asparagus. For me, this means hacking off the lower three inches or so of the stalks, but you can peel them if you have the time, or if you are my mother. If you don’t have or don’t like asparagus, you could use broccoli florets, or frozen peas that you have thawed, or pretty much any thing you like. The key is that the vegetables need to be cooked first. Note that this means leftover vegetables are fair game here, so if you’ve got some leftover green vegetables that you don’t know what to do with, you can just skip this step and add them at the end with the mushrooms. 

Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water for about five to ten minutes, or until just tender.  To make life simpler, I do this in the pan I'm going to use to cook the risotto. The time will vary depending on how thick the spears are; mine were thin, and cooked in five minutes. Drain them and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. FYI, this can be done way ahead of time.

Now having wiped out the pan (I use an enameled cast iron braising pan, but a heavy skillet or Dutch oven will work just fine), I add ¼ pound of bacon, cut into strips (or cubes if that’s easier). Obviously, if you have pancetta, use that instead, but bacon is more common on this side of the Atlantic, and it works beautifully. Cook it over medium heat until it has browned and crisped up a bit. Timing will vary depending on how thick the bacon is. Remove the bacon to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.

It ought to go without saying, but if you’re a vegetarian, skip the bacon and use olive oil to sauté everything in the steps that follow.

Now slice about ¼ pound of mushrooms and sauté them over medium-high heat in the fat remaining in the pan, adding some olive oil if the pan seems dry. Sprinkle them with salt and cook, tossing frequently, until they are well browned, then set aside. I used Cremini mushrooms here, but any kind will do.

If you're lucky, there is still a fair amount of fat left in the pan. If there isn’t, or if the fat seems burned and smelly, wipe out the pan and add enough olive oil to coat the pan well. Turn the heat to medium, and add ½ an onion which you have chopped. Sauté with a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and become translucent, say seven to eight minutes.

Now add one cup of Arborio rice to the pan and stir to mix with the onions. Continue sautéing for a couple of minutes to toast the rice in the oil. Add some minced garlic if you like.

And yes, it must be Arborio rice, or other rice suitable for risotto, such as Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano. Plain old long-grain rice will be a gummy mess if you use it here. The picture below, btw, shows the rice after toasting—it is very slightly browned, or at least less white than it was originally.

Now, pour in ½ cup or so of white wine. It will bubble and hiss. Pay it no mind. Stir it into the rice, and stir frequently until the wine has evaporated.

Lower the heat to medium-low, and add two ladles of your hot broth. 

Stir to mix it into the rice, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth has been absorbed.

Then add another ladle of broth, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth has been absorbed. Repeat this step several times until the rice is tender. Note that I said to stir occasionally. I know that old recipes say stir constantly, but I don’t find that necessary. I don’t recommend walking away and reading a book or anything, but as long as you stay nearby and give it a stir every few minutes, you should be fine.

How can you tell when the rice is done? Taste it. Usually I find that it takes around 20 – 25 minutes, but it can vary depending on the rice, the heat of your stove, etc. Once the rice is done to your liking, stir in the asparagus and the mushrooms. If you have any broth left, add a bit to help heat the asparagus and mushrooms through.

Grate a small blizzard’s worth of Parmesan cheese over the risotto and stir that in. You may need to add some liquid at this point, since the cheese tends to thicken the mixture a bit.

Add the bacon. You're supposed to stir the bacon in, but doesn’t it look pretty just piled in the center? I thought so, so I took a picture before I stirred it in. That said, you could have brought it to the table like this and impressed your guests/family/whomever else you’re feeding. You could also garnish with some chopped parsley if you had some. I didn’t.

That’s it. You could, if you wished, stir some softened butter into the risotto just before serving, but I don’t really find that necessary. And if I don’t think that butter is necessary, it probably isn’t. Btw, risotto, like its Iberian cousin paella, is traditionally served warm rather than piping hot, so if it takes a few minutes for your diners to get their butts to the table, no worries. Bon appetìt, y’all.

*Yes, I am aware that risotto is considered a first course in Italy. But so is pasta, and you make a meal out of that all the time, don’t you? OK, then.

Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto

Serves 2 – 3

For the broth (with help from Cook’s Illustrated):

4 cups chicken broth

small handful dried Porcini mushrooms, rinsed

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon soy sauce

For the risotto:

½ lb. asparagus, trimmed

¼ lb. bacon or pancetta, cut into strips or cubes

¼ lb. mushrooms, sliced

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

1 cup Arborio rice

grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

salt and pepper to taste