Rice for risotto: varieties. How to choose rice for risotto?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Risotto at first glance may seem like an ordinary rice porridge with fillings to taste. Of course, such an assessment is erroneous, and all consumers are convinced of this. The silky, inexpressibly creamy texture leaves no one indifferent.

Yes, the skillful hands of the chef are extremely important in its preparation, but we must not forget about the quality of the products. How to choose rice for risotto and which varieties are suitable, we will tell in this article, giving a few recipes along the way.

It's not that simple

It would seem that it is difficult to cook rice? However, in practice it turns out that this dish is one of the most difficult. Mastering the ability to cook risotto, the chef along the way learns many subtleties that affect his general ability to cook and increase the level of professionalism. This is not rice porridge for breakfast, but a whole philosophy. Everything is important: what kind of rice for risotto do you choose, what vegetables do you add, in whichlay the dishes, with what mood you approach the process. The main thing is not only strict adherence to the recipe, add intuition and confidence in the correctness of your actions.

If we talk specifically about rice, then it must necessarily contain a large amount of starch (amylopectin, which forms a transparent "paste" upon contact with hot liquid), which will provide the final dish with a delicate creamy texture.

Arborio rice

The most popular and familiar variety for Russians. Rice is native to Piedmont. The grains are large, loose, contain a large amount of amylopectin.

Cooking this risotto rice is very easy - the creamy texture is always formed. But the dish should be eaten immediately after cooking, since the cooled "arborio" is a rough-sticky mass that cannot be reheated. Therefore, the Italians themselves use this variety to prepare basic types of risotto that do not require complex side dishes. Milanese risotto, mushrooms, spices - this "arborio" is enough for a triumph. So if you are in doubt about which rice for risotto to choose and at the same time do not have experience, then it is better to take it.

Rice "carnaroli"

A popular variety of rice in Italy.

It is slightly smaller than the "arborio" and more elongated. There is also less starch in it, which is why the finished dish, even when it cools down, does not turn into an unattractive porridge. "Carnaroli" -perfect rice for risotto with a complex side dish.

Rice "vialone nano"

Finding this variety in Russia is quite difficult, as there are no official importers capable of providing them with a retail market. Therefore, you should only rely on gifts from Italy or online purchases.

This is the best rice for risotto: it is the most tender, the most correct. Most loved at home, gives a very delicate creamy texture. The best chefs around the world prefer it for its taste and aroma. Dishes are infinitely soft and tender. Vialone nano, unlike Arborio, will perform well in recipes of any complexity.

Classic risotto recipe

Now let's move on to the recipes. Indeed, why find out what kind of rice is needed for risotto, and not use knowledge in practice? Let's start cooking risotto bianco (base without additional flavor accents):

• rice - 150 grams;
• butter - 25 grams;
• onion - 20 grams;
• shredded Parmesan - 20 grams;
• vegetable broth - 500 ml;
• dry white wine - 50 ml;
• olive oil - 10 grams;
• pepper and s alt to taste.

Cooking

Which rice is best for risotto, we found out, now we'll tell you how to cook it. By the way, all products are given for 2 servings, if you wish, you can increase them.

As for the cookware, an old cast-iron frying pan would be ideal here.

Pour olive oil into a cold pan and add finely chopped onion.

Put it all over medium heat and fry the contents until translucent.

Pour the rice over the onion and fry it until the tips of the grains become transparent at the ends. It is at this moment that they absorb the flavors and aroma of onion oil.

Pour whatever alcohol you want into the rice for risotto (for example, optional white wine, it can be red), let it evaporate almost completely.

Add vegetable broth by 100 ml, evaporating each time. Stir constantly.

By the last batch of broth, your rice will be al dente. have a delicate texture, but a slightly hard middle. The whole process will take 17 minutes.

After the time expires, the grains will swell, release starch - here you need to remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for a minute so that the rice rests.

Grate parmesan and butter into the rice, stirring gently. You will get a marvelous consistency of rice cream that holds its shape. Serve immediately.

For those who haven't eaten yet. Inside out arancini balls

Yes, and the Italians sometimes had some risotto left. Food should not be wasted, the brave gourmets decided to come up with a new dish - arancini. It comes from Sicily and is a risotto ball stuffed with meat or cheese and fried in a lot of oil. We offer you a wonderful dish that differs from arancini in that the filling is the risotto itself. Otherwise, the technology is preserved:

• ready risotto bianco- 200 grams;
• peeled shrimp - 250 grams;
• starch (preferably corn) - 25 grams;
• s alt and pepper to taste;
• vegetable oil - 300 ml.

Doing

If, as luck would have it, you have no leftover risotto, we strongly recommend preparing a new portion (rice for risotto how to choose, we told you). Yes, more troublesome, but worth it.

Crush the shrimp in a blender into a smooth, viscous paste, s alt and pepper to taste.

Shape cold risotto with wet hands into walnut-sized balls.

Make a 0.5 cm thick cake out of the shrimp paste and wrap the risotto ball in it, leaving no gaps.

Pour the starch onto a saucer and roll the balls in it, lightly dusting the shrimp surface. Don't overdo it, you don't need a strong starch shell.

Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or deep frying pan.

Fry the balls over medium heat, turning them occasionally, until golden brown. This will take approximately 6-7 minutes.

Turn arancini inside out on paper towel to drain excess fat and serve immediately!

Risotto with strawberries for dessert

We offer you a very, very non-standard version of a dessert that will honor even the festive table with its taste:

• low-fat milk - 750 ml;
• cinnamon - 1 stick;
• fresh and frozen strawberries - 30 grams;
• dried strawberries - 50 grams;
• rice forrisotto - 1 gram;
• sugar - 250 grams;
• butter - 30 grams.

How to cook

All products are given for 2 servings. If desired, proportionally increase all components.

Wash the strawberries, dry and remove all branches.

Chop the berry, rub through a sieve to get rid of the seeds, mix with sugar and put on a small fire. Bring to a boil and cook for a quarter of an hour, periodically removing the foam.

Cut dried strawberries in half.

Heat milk without boiling, add cinnamon. Keep warm.

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add the rice and fry over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Pour milk into rice so that it only covers, stirring vigorously. Add the next portion of milk when the previous one is absorbed into the rice.

After 10 minutes of rice cooking, add strawberry syrup and dried berries.

Keep adding milk until the rice is done.

Served hot or cold, garnished with berries.

Taste variations

Above we have given the basic recipe for white risotto bianca. Having mastered it, you can vary the taste of the dish as you wish by adding certain products. Recall the step in which the rice is fried in oil with onions before the broth is added. It is at this moment that he is most "open" to all sorts of flavors and aromas, so treat yourself to the following combinations:

• chopped bacon (100 grams), sun-dried tomatoes (100grams) and basil (5-6 leaves), add to rice;
• sea cocktail (250 grams) defrost, rinse and dry, grate the zest from one lemon, add to rice;
• chicken fillet (200 grams) chopped together with fresh mint (5-6 leaves), add to rice;
• frozen green peas (200 grams) pour over boiling water and put on a sieve, chop fresh mint (6-7 leaves), add to rice;
• chop mushrooms (300 grams), soak saffron (1 thread) in 1 tbsp. spoonful of broth, add to rice.

Import substitution. Rice varieties for risotto from Russia

What if you really want risotto, but you can only dream of "carnaroli", "vialone nano" and even "arborio"? On bezrybe and Krasnodar - Italy. In other words, you need to find rice with a lot of starch. This description fits the Krasnodar variety. Of course, the effect will not be the same, but you can still try.