Steak with Creamy Corn Risotto Recipe - Home Chef (2024)

FAQs

What thickens risotto? ›

Rice contains two molecules that make up its starch content, amylose, and amylopectin. Generally speaking, rices with a higher proportion of amylopectin to amylose will tend to soften more completely and thicken their sauce more strongly.

Unlike long-grain rice, medium-grain rice has a higher starch content, perfect for risotto, because when cooked, it releases that starch and when simmered with broth and stirred, it thickens giving it that signature creamy and more compact texture without needing butter and cheese – but keep it handy for an extra ...

The technique of risotto is to slowly and gradually cook a starchy ingredient by adding liquid in small amounts and stirring. This technique's main purpose is to draw starch out of the main ingredient to give the dish a creamy texture.

Use Salted Water Instead of Broth in Risotto

It's an ingenious tip on many levels.

Sure, whipped cream won't save a gluey or gummy risotto (hey, there's always arancini), but it will make good risotto recipes even better. In the corn risotto recipe, that means whipping ½ cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks and then gently folding it into the pot.

According to Salvatore, it all depends on the ingredients. The chef prefers oil over butter (and oil works particularly well with seafood risottos), but butter is better for vegetable-based dishes like Rampoldi's black truffle with mushroom or mixed vegetable and ginger risotto.

If you are able to get white wine vinegar then you can add a tablespoon of this to the rice and let it boil away before adding any stock and this will often give some of the flavour of wine, whilst reducing the alcohol content.

The key, instead, is to undercook the risotto and cool it rapidly to prevent that rice from overcooking, so you can easily finish cooking it later.

What is the best broth for risotto? ›

You can use lobster stock for a lobster risotto or mushroom stock for a mushroom risotto, but don't blindly use chicken stock or vegetable stock for every risotto you make. The rice has its own subtle flavor, which shouldn't be masked by a concentrated stock.

If the risotto is not quite as creamy as you'd like, or is a touch too watery (pressure cooking can take some guesswork), simply return the risotto to the stovetop after removing the lid and stir for a few more turns over low heat.

The texture relies on the amount of chicken stock the rice soaks up. If you add too much chicken stock at a time and don't allow the rice to completely absorb the liquid, then you will have a runny mess -- think of oatmeal with a lot of milk poured over it.

Consistency is key

The finished risotto should have a loose texture that settles after it's stirred, so add a splash more stock (or water) if it seems dry, or cook for a few minutes more if it's too wet.

Some people, however, stir it too frequently. This adds air into the risotto, cooling it down and making it gluey. With the right cooking temperature, the rice will naturally move around in the pot.