December 2004

On Risotto
The Kitchen Samurai

So, for the Holidays, a co-worker of mine wanted to impress his parents with a Porcini Mushroom Risotto. The following represents my attempt to explain Risotto to an amateur cook, without my having any clue at all as to his ability in the kitchen. I recognize that means all two of my dear readers will be getting sloppy seconds this Christmas Season, but I'm busy trying to do work, so you guys can take a look at my other article: Cooking Stuff You Want for Christmas.

In a Risotto, you're trying to do two things. First and foremost, you're trying to get the rice to absorb as much liquid as possible in order to infuse the rice with flavor (FLAVA!). This works best, of course, if you start with flavorful liquid; i.e., wine, stock, grape juice, whatever. Second, the bit that makes Risotto Risotto is the way it comes out: each grain of rice is distinct, yet the starch that coats each grain of rice should come loose from the grains, and add to the character of the finished dish as a whole. You accomplish this by adding a starchy rice to a cooking fat of some sort and tossing the rice around, in essence coating each grain or rice in a protective layer of fat, then adding liquid to the rice, slowly, a little at a time, so as to make sure the starch "melts" and to flavor the rice.

So. Then. Ingredients. You want: rice (Italians insist on Arborio rice for Risotto), a cooking fat, a stock and wine, what cooking geeks call an aromatic (I'd go with shallots, or garlic - straight onions might be too harsh), and your porcinis.

You also have some prep work you can do. In this case, you'd start by assembling your ingredients and making your stock. For the stock, you have a couple options. First, you can buy dried porcinis to go with your fresh, and rehydrate them in warm water for an hour or two, then fish out the rehydrated mushrooms, STRAIN the juice (dried mushrooms are gritty), and use the mushroom water as some or all of your stock (cutting it with chicken broth if you don't have enough mushroom liquor); you can chop the rehydrated mushrooms very fine, and add them to the fresh for extra flavor. Second, you can make a mushroom stock by tossing the toughest parts of the porcini stems in simmering water along with a bunch of white button mushrooms - this will take longer than the first option, and be less flavorful, but still good. Third, you can skip mushroom stock entirely, and use canned chicken broth. Purists would scoff at this, but it works, if you can find a low or no sodium broth - salted broth reduced tastes salty as hell. You can also pad your stock content with water, if you want.

Second, choose a white wine - no oak, not too sweet. An unoaked Chardonnay, or a Pinot Grigio if you wanna go Italian.

Third, an aromatic: you want a shallot, I think (but it's your Risotto), chopped very, very fine. Aromatics are yclept thusly because they aren't front stage flavors but rather background notes that add a sort of flavor bass line. For Risotto, I chop shallots or garlic very fine and add it to the pan just before the rice so that these little flavor components melt into the dish as a whole.

Lastly, you want to slice and saute your porcinis. They're the point of this whole business, so you want to treat them with care. To saute mushrooms, I cook just as many as will fit in a single layer in the pan at one time. I use high (not cranked all the way, but ¾ there or so) heat, and don't move the fuckers too much till they're brown. The pan should be hot before the fat hits it, and the fat too should be hot before the mushrooms go in. Mushrooms cooked at low temperatures lose their juice, and go mushy. Salt the mushrooms as they cook, not before, not after. If they start to get too brown or too dry, add a dash of the white wine or stock; this'll allow you to keep the mushrooms going, as well as enable you to stir up the browned bits stuck to the pan. Cook the mushrooms in batches till they're done.

Now. Onto the main event. What I'd do is this: heat a pan over medium low heat; add butter, olive oil, or both to the hot pan, and heat your fat till it's shimmering; add minced garlic or shallots to the pan (away from the center of the pan) and keep them moving while you get the rice - don't blacken the little bits o' shallot. Once the aromatics are soft, but not brown, add and stir your rice. Salt. Add a small amount of the white wine, just for another flavor bass note - a quarter cup will do - the rest can fortify the cook. Moving the rice constantly, cook it till the liquid evaporates/is absorbed into the rice. Add a ladleful of the warm stock, and repeat the dance. Every time you add stock, cook the rice, stirring it frequently, until it's as dry as you feel safe letting it get. Keep adding stock, then cooking it dry, until it's to your liking, and the starch seems to be coating the whole dish. Taste for seasoning, and add your sauteed porcinis at this point.

From here you can garnish the thing in two ways: grated cheese, or chopped parsley. I'd add a touch of chopped parsley, but you may think otherwise.