Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Risotto is a less-common rice dish, probably because it requires so much attention to make. It doesn’t require a lot of effort, necessarily, just attention in the form of stirring. And one does want to have one’s stock in a bain marie (a warming pan) otherwise the process will take forever. The stirring is really important, because it causes the rice to shed its starch slowly, making the broth creamy over time. The risotto is ready when the consistency is silky and creamy, and the grains are just barely al dente, like well-cooked pasta.
Generally, it will be necessary to stand with the risotto and stir it while it cooks, adding a ladle of stock every so often as the previous one is absorbed and/or evaporates. If there is something else cooking, you will be able to watch that. It will not be practical to turn away from the stove, though one might manage small mise en place just to the side of the stove and still manage not to wreck the risotto.
Consume the risotto once it is done. Leftovers may be warmed back up; properly made risotto will most likely be a bit mushy the next day.
Makes enough for 4-6 people.
Equipment:
• saucepan (wide and shallow if possible)
• high-sided saucepan for holding stock warm
• wooden spoon for stirring (anything but metal)
• large non-stick skillet for sauteing mushrooms
• high-heat skillet (carbon steel, cast iron, or similar) for searing/sauteing scallops
Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice short-grained; regular rice will not work well
4 cup fish or chicken stock
12 oz scallop small “bay” scallops are best for this
1 lb mushrooms chanterelles, oyster or crimini
1 ea shallot minced
1 ea leek sliced thin and rinsed well
1 ea carrot peeled, fluted and sliced into “flowers”
8 oz snow peas cut into approximately 1” lengths
1-4 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 cup vermouth dry; or your favorite dry white wine
1 Tbsp parmesan grated; optional
1 Tbsp chives chopped; for garnish
Procedure:
1. In the high-sided saucepan, get the broth warm, not quite simmering.
2. While the stock heats up, peel the carrot, and use a sharp knife or a channel knife to make five shallow trenches down the length of the carrot, so that it will resemble carrots when sliced.
3. Slice the carrot into 3-4mm thick slices.
4. Slice the leek thinly
5. Clean up the snow peas, trim off any dried material, and cut them into ~1” lengths.
6. Mince the shallot and the strings of cast-off carrot (not the peel).
7. In the shallow saucepan, warm the olive oil or butter, and once warm, add to it the rice and the aromatics: shallot, minced carrot and leek. Keep the slices of carrot back for now.
8. Fry the (dry) rice in the oil with the aromatics until the rice is starting to smell toasty; you will know this moment for its deliciousness.
9. Add about half the vermouth to the hot rice and aromatics.
10.Add a couple of ladles of broth to the pan, and stir until the stock is absorbed or evaporates.
11.Add the carrot flowers to the broth as you begin to stir the stock into the rice.
12.Repeat step 10 until the rice is just barely al dente, at which point the stock should be used up, or close.
13.About halfway through, add the snow peas, so that they’ll have time to cook but have a chance to stay bright green.
14.In the large non-stick skillet, heat some butter and fry the mushrooms. Give them enough time to get nice brown caramelization, but don’t burn them. Once done, they can sit in their skillet until the scallops are going into the risotto.
15.Get the high-heat skillet hot as the risotto is getting done.
16.In one or two batches, season and sear off the scallops, which may become more of a saute if, like most scallops, they release a fair amount of moisture.
17.Once the scallops are just about done, add them to the risotto. They will carry over to doneness.
18.Deglaze the pan with some of the dry vermouth and a bit of butter, adding that to the risotto.
19.Add any waiting mushrooms. Deglaze the mushroom pan with some of the vermouth.
20.Stir the risotto together one last time with whatever vermouth remains, and portion it into dishes for eating.
21.Garnish the dishes with chopped chives (or parsley, chervil, tarragon, alias, depending on your herb garden).
22.Ideally, serve this on the same evening with a crunchy, bitter/sour salad made of radicchio/frisee/endive, in order to avoid the monotony of too much soft food.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Risotto is a less-common rice dish, probably because it requires so much attention to make. It doesn’t require a lot of effort, necessarily, just attention in the form of stirring. And one does want to have one’s stock in a bain marie (a warming pan) otherwise the process will take forever. The stirring is really important, because it causes the rice to shed its starch slowly, making the broth creamy over time. The risotto is ready when the consistency is silky and creamy, and the grains are just barely al dente, like well-cooked pasta.
Generally, it will be necessary to stand with the risotto and stir it while it cooks, adding a ladle of stock every so often as the previous one is absorbed and/or evaporates. If there is something else cooking, you will be able to watch that. It will not be practical to turn away from the stove, though one might manage small mise en place just to the side of the stove and still manage not to wreck the risotto.
Consume the risotto once it is done. Leftovers may be warmed back up; properly made risotto will most likely be a bit mushy the next day.
Makes enough for 4-6 people.
Equipment:
• saucepan (wide and shallow if possible)
• high-sided saucepan for holding stock warm
• wooden spoon for stirring (anything but metal)
• large non-stick skillet for sauteing mushrooms
• high-heat skillet (carbon steel, cast iron, or similar) for searing/sauteing scallops
Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice short-grained; regular rice will not work well
4 cup fish or chicken stock
12 oz scallop small “bay” scallops are best for this
1 lb mushrooms chanterelles, oyster or crimini
1 ea shallot minced
1 ea leek sliced thin and rinsed well
1 ea carrot peeled, fluted and sliced into “flowers”
8 oz snow peas cut into approximately 1” lengths
1-4 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 cup vermouth dry; or your favorite dry white wine
1 Tbsp parmesan grated; optional
1 Tbsp chives chopped; for garnish
Procedure:
1. In the high-sided saucepan, get the broth warm, not quite simmering.
2. While the stock heats up, peel the carrot, and use a sharp knife or a channel knife to make five shallow trenches down the length of the carrot, so that it will resemble carrots when sliced.
3. Slice the carrot into 3-4mm thick slices.
4. Slice the leek thinly
5. Clean up the snow peas, trim off any dried material, and cut them into ~1” lengths.
6. Mince the shallot and the strings of cast-off carrot (not the peel).
7. In the shallow saucepan, warm the olive oil or butter, and once warm, add to it the rice and the aromatics: shallot, minced carrot and leek. Keep the slices of carrot back for now.
8. Fry the (dry) rice in the oil with the aromatics until the rice is starting to smell toasty; you will know this moment for its deliciousness.
9. Add about half the vermouth to the hot rice and aromatics.
10.Add a couple of ladles of broth to the pan, and stir until the stock is absorbed or evaporates.
11.Add the carrot flowers to the broth as you begin to stir the stock into the rice.
12.Repeat step 10 until the rice is just barely al dente, at which point the stock should be used up, or close.
13.About halfway through, add the snow peas, so that they’ll have time to cook but have a chance to stay bright green.
14.In the large non-stick skillet, heat some butter and fry the mushrooms. Give them enough time to get nice brown caramelization, but don’t burn them. Once done, they can sit in their skillet until the scallops are going into the risotto.
15.Get the high-heat skillet hot as the risotto is getting done.
16.In one or two batches, season and sear off the scallops, which may become more of a saute if, like most scallops, they release a fair amount of moisture.
17.Once the scallops are just about done, add them to the risotto. They will carry over to doneness.
18.Deglaze the pan with some of the dry vermouth and a bit of butter, adding that to the risotto.
19.Add any waiting mushrooms. Deglaze the mushroom pan with some of the vermouth.
20.Stir the risotto together one last time with whatever vermouth remains, and portion it into dishes for eating.
21.Garnish the dishes with chopped chives (or parsley, chervil, tarragon, alias, depending on your herb garden).
22.Ideally, serve this on the same evening with a crunchy, bitter/sour salad made of radicchio/frisee/endive, in order to avoid the monotony of too much soft food.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
