particular grain of rice is, it’s not an indication of quality or
attractiveness: it refers only to the width of the grain. You
can mostly ignore these labels.
The Basics: Adding Broth and Stirring
Basic instructions for old-school risotto: Heat up a large
saucepan of stock and keep it at a bare simmer. Toast the
rice briefly in butter and/or olive oil, then add a single
ladleful of stock (or use wine for this first liquid addition)
and stir slowly with a wooden spoon until the stock is
absorbed. Add another ladleful and repeat. Continue doing
this until the stock has all been absorbed, the rice is plump,
and the broth is creamy. Remove from the heat and add cold
butter and/or cream and/or Parmesan cheese while stirring
vigorously to halt the cooking and add some extra richness
and creaminess to the sauce.
This method works all right, but it’s crazy-inefficient. First
off, there’s no need to heat up the broth in a separate pot.
Sure, it’ll shave a few minutes off the cooking time of the
rice, but you add that time back and more in the amount of
time it takes to heat up the stock, not to mention washing
two pans instead of one. I’ve made risotto with stock
straight from the fridge with no discernible difference in the
final product.
What about adding the liquid all at once versus in
batches, and stirring the whole time?
There are a couple of arguments in favor of adding in
batches and stirring. First, when you add it in smaller
batches, the grains of rice are kept in close contact with each
other. More starch is rubbed off, and your risotto ends up