Risotto classic

It’s not for nothing that classic risotto is considered one of the most delicious dishes that Italians are proud of. Tender rice that melts in your mouth, aromatic seafood or chicken, vegetables, mushrooms - risotto can be prepared with almost any topping, or without additives: the main thing is the correct technology for cooking rice and, of course, grated cheese.

Classic homemade chicken risotto recipe

For a classic chicken risotto, fillet is usually used, but if you want to add more flavor and juiciness to the dish, it is better to choose chicken thighs: the meat in them is no less tender than in the breast, but much juicier.

1. 
   To prepare risotto according to the classic recipe, the chicken fillet must be washed and dried. Cut into slices about 1.5-2 cm.
2. 
   Fry in a deep frying pan, adding olive oil so that the chicken pieces acquire a pleasant golden hue.
3. 
   Place the chicken in a separate container, and instead add the chopped onion, garlic cloves and butter into the frying pan. Cook vegetables until translucent but not browned.
4. 
   Pour the wine into the pan, let it evaporate a little, and then add a little broth. Add the specified amount of rice and mix well so that the grains are evenly covered with the resulting liquid.
5. 
   When the wine and broth are absorbed, you need to add a new portion of liquid so that it covers the rice. Stirring, wait until the new portion is absorbed, and repeat the procedure until the rice is ready. This can be understood by its special creamy consistency: it should be very tender and melt in the mouth. At the end of cooking, season the dish with salt and pepper. Grate the cheese into shavings, add the prepared chicken slices and cheese to the risotto, stir quickly, let the cheese melt for a couple of minutes under the lid, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Classic Italian risotto with seafood

The seafood and fish stock give the risotto a wonderful holiday flavor. It is better to take fresh, unopened mussels, which should open during cooking. It is better to remove unopened shells from the dish. Uncleaned seafood imparts much more flavor and aroma to the risotto.

Cooking time: 1 hour.

Cooking time: 10 min.

Servings – 2.

Ingredients:

• Onions – ½ pcs.
• Garlic – 2 teeth.
• Olive oil – 4 tbsp.
• Arborio rice – 150 gr.
• Chopped parsley – 1 tbsp.
• Dry white wine – 150 ml
• Tiger shrimp – 2 pcs.
• Langoustine – 2 pcs.
• Fresh mussel – 10 pcs.
• Fish broth – 400 ml
• Ground white pepper - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.
• Ground cayenne pepper - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Finely chop the onion, chop the greens in any convenient way, and crush the garlic, but do not chop it.

2. In a deep frying pan or saucepan, fry the garlic for about a minute until a characteristic appetizing aroma appears, and then remove it from the oil: it is important that it only gives off its smell to the oil.

3. After this, put the onion in the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until a beautiful golden color appears.

4. Add the rice, which should be dry: no need to rinse it first. The grains should become transparent in a minute or two. After this, you can add parsley to the cereal and pour in dry wine. Heat the contents of the pan until the alcohol begins to evaporate.

5. Add seafood ingredients to the rice and add a small portion of broth. Cook the risotto, stirring constantly and adding the next part of the liquid only after the first is absorbed. At the end of cooking, add the required amount of salt and pepper, and also, with caution, hot cayenne pepper.

6. Before serving, remove seafood from the dish, add a little olive oil to the rice and stir quickly. Place the cereal in a serving plate, arrange the seafood beautifully on top and serve.

Step-by-step recipe for making mushroom risotto

Mushrooms are a very good ingredient for risotto, and it becomes especially flavorful if you use wild mushrooms. It is important to cook them with garlic to ensure the most delicious dish possible. Sea salt and freshly ground pepper will highlight the mushroom flavor.

Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

Cooking time: 15 min.

Servings – 4.

Ingredients:

• Fresh mushrooms – 750 gr.
• Arborio rice – 300 gr.
• Hard cheese – 200 gr.
• Butter – 150 gr.
• Onions – 1 pc.
• Dry porcini mushrooms – 60 gr.
• Parsley – 1 bunch.
• Garlic – 5 teeth.
• Chicken broth – 750 ml
• Olive oil – 4 tbsp.
• Freshly ground black pepper - to taste.
• Sea salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Pour hot water over the dried mushrooms and leave for about half an hour, then drain the water and cut the mushrooms into fairly large pieces.

2. Pour fresh mushrooms (champignons, wild mushrooms) with cold water in a deep container to rinse, then place on a paper towel and let the remaining water drain. Cut the mushrooms into slices no larger than 2 cm.

3. In a saucepan or deep frying pan, fry pieces of fresh mushrooms, adding olive oil.

4. Finely chop the peeled onion and garlic, first add half a portion of chopped garlic to the mushrooms, cook for 1 minute, then add salt and freshly ground pepper and continue frying for another 4 minutes.

5. Place the butter in another deep heat-resistant container, and when it softens, pour the onion pieces into it. Cook it until it becomes transparent. Add slices of dried mushrooms and a second portion of garlic to the prepared onion, cook everything together over low heat for about 1 minute, and then add rice. Mix everything well.

6. Add chicken broth to the rice in small portions so that the liquid is completely absorbed by the grains, and then pour in a little more broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes tender and melts in your mouth. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.It is important to remember that the dish will also contain cheese, which already contains salt, so seasoning must be done with caution.

7. Grate the cheese on a special grater or a regular fine grater, chop the parsley. Before serving, mix the risotto with the mushroom mixture, add cheese, parsley and a little more butter, serve as soon as the cheese begins to melt.

How to cook risotto with vegetables at home?

You can add almost any vegetables to vegetarian risotto, based on your own preferences. It is better to choose brightly colored ingredients: this will make the dish look more appetizing.

Cooking time: 35 min.

Cooking time: 15 min.

Servings – 4.

Ingredients:

• Round grain rice (arborio) – 200 gr.
• Onions – 1 pc.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Sweet pepper – 200 gr.
• Olive oil – 3 tbsp.
• Canned corn – 150 gr.
• Salt - to taste.
• Fresh herbs (parsley, basil, marjoram) - to taste.
• Hard cheese – 100 gr.

Cooking process:

1. Rinse the rice grains well until the water becomes clear. Pour clean drinking water over the cereal, bring to a boil and cook for about 12 minutes, adding a little salt.

2. Cut the onion so that you get beautiful half rings, carrots into cubes or half circles.

3. Remove the seeds and internal veins from the pepper and chop into large cubes.

4. In a deep frying pan, saute the carrots and onions, adding a little olive oil to them, then add the pepper there. Cook for a few minutes.

5. Add rice and canned corn to vegetables. Mix well, add salt if necessary, add grated cheese and chopped herbs. Serve as soon as the cheese begins to melt.

A simple and delicious shrimp risotto recipe

A delicious rice dish with shrimp, garnished with spicy parmesan and white pepper, which emphasizes the taste of seafood. Risotto combines different textures - tender, melting rice and dense, sweetish shrimp.

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes.

Cooking time: 15 min.

Servings – 5.

Ingredients:

• Arborio rice – 250 gr.
• Shrimp – 600 gr.
• White onion – 1 pc.
• Garlic – 2 teeth.
• Dry white wine – 50 ml
• Parmesan cheese – 50 gr.
• Chopped dill – 2 tbsp.
• Chopped parsley – 2 tbsp.
• Fresh basil – 1 bunch.
• Olive oil - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.
• Ground black pepper - to taste.
• Ground white pepper - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. The shrimp are peeled, the shells and heads are placed in a saucepan and fried until they turn red. Then they are filled with water, they need to be salted and boiled for about 20 minutes, and then the broth is filtered.

2. Peeled garlic cloves are crushed, mixed with olive oil, and the shrimp are spread with this mixture to marinate. You need to leave the seafood for 20 minutes.

3. The onion is cut into very small cubes and sauteed with the addition of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Then rice is added there, it should be stirred and kept on low heat for a couple of minutes so that the grains become transparent.

4. Wine is poured into the rice and, stirring, you need to evaporate it for about 5-6 minutes.

5. As soon as the wine is absorbed, add shrimp broth in small portions, stirring the rice constantly so that it is evenly saturated with liquid. As soon as the entire portion of the broth is absorbed, add a new portion. Keep the risotto on the fire for about 20 minutes until the grains are tender and melt in your mouth.

6.The greens are finely chopped, added to the rice, followed by shrimp meat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes over very low heat.

7. Add chopped cheese to the risotto, mix, leave for a couple of minutes and serve in portions. Bon appetit!

Homemade risotto with dried porcini mushrooms

Dried porcini mushrooms have an amazing taste and incredibly bright aroma that is easily absorbed by rice. The result is a delicate, nutritious dish with an amazingly rich taste, which is also suitable for those who do not eat meat or fast.

Cooking time: 2 hours 15 minutes.

Cooking time: 10 min.

Servings – 6.

Ingredients:

• Arborio rice – 2 tbsp.
• Dried porcini mushrooms – 50 gr.
• Onions – 2 pcs.
• Meat broth – 1.4 l
• Dry white wine – 1 tbsp.
• Butter – 4 tbsp.
• Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp.
• Ground saffron - to taste.
• Salt - to taste.
• Freshly ground black pepper - to taste.
• White mushroom, fresh or frozen, for serving – 1 pc.
• Parmesan cheese - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Sort the mushrooms and pour 1 tbsp. hot broth, leave for 1.5 hours, and then remove the mushrooms, and pour the aromatic liquid into the remaining broth, which must be heated to a boil, and kept on low heat the entire time the risotto is cooked. Cut the mushrooms into small slices.

2. Mix 3 tbsp. wine with saffron and leave for 20 minutes.

3. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the olive oil and butter and fry the onion, chopped very finely, until it softens, which will take about 5-7 minutes. Then add rice to the onion and keep on fire, stirring, for 3 minutes until the grains become transparent.

4.Pour the rest of the wine and a little broth into the rice, cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Then add the broth a little at a time and cook the rice until it is tender and completely saturated with the broth. This usually requires about 25 minutes of continuous cooking with stirring. At the end of the risotto, season with salt and pepper, and add the saffron wine and mushrooms.

5. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add butter and grated cheese to the rice, mix everything and leave for a few minutes. Garnish with slices of porcini mushroom when serving.

Risotto with chicken and mushrooms in creamy sauce

Chicken, leeks and mushrooms perfectly complement tender rice, wine gives the dish a slight sourness, and saffron adds a rich golden hue. It is important to let the dish sit for at least a minute after adding the cheese so that it melts and is evenly distributed throughout the risotto.

Cooking time: 55 min.

Cooking time: 10 min.

Servings – 5.

Ingredients:

• Arborio rice or carnaroli – 300 gr.
• Chicken broth – 2 l
• Chicken fillet – 1 pc.
• Fresh champignons – 300 gr.
• Butter – 110 gr.
• Dry white wine – 100 ml
• Leek – 1 pc.
• White onion – 1 pc.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Garlic – 1 tooth.
• Ground saffron – ¼ tsp.
• Parmesan cheese or grana padano – 80 gr.
• Ground paprika – 2 pinches.
• Freshly ground black pepper – 1/3 tsp.
• Fine sea salt - to taste.
• Olive oil – for frying.

Cooking process:

1. Cut the washed and dried champignons into thin slices and fry in olive oil, add ground paprika and pepper to the mushrooms, simmer for 5 minutes, and lightly add salt at the end of cooking.

2.Pour the saffron into 2 tablespoons of dry wine, grate the parmesan or grana padano, and chop the butter into pieces no larger than 1 cm.

3. Cut the chicken into slices and fry separately in olive oil until the pieces are browned. Pepper and add a little salt.

4. Chop leeks and regular onions very finely, chop carrots using a food processor or blender.

5. Melt half a portion of butter in a saucepan over very low heat, add two types of onions and cook for about 7 minutes until they become translucent but not overcooked. Add carrots and a crushed but whole clove of garlic.

6. Pour rice into the vegetable base, mix well and wait until the oil is absorbed into the grains. Pour in the wine and heat for about 5 minutes until the alcohol evaporates.

7. After this, gradually, in small portions, you need to pour the broth into the rice and stir it immediately so that the liquid is evenly absorbed into the cereal. Continue cooking in this mode for about 15-18 minutes.

8. After about 10 minutes from the start of adding the broth, add mushrooms, chicken and wine with saffron to the rice, mix well and continue cooking.

9. Remove the risotto from the stove and add cheese and cubes of butter to taste, mix very intensively, add salt if required, and place on deep heated plates. The dish must be served immediately. Enjoy!

Classic recipe for making risotto in a slow cooker

For those who do not have the opportunity to control the preparation of real risotto on the stove, you can use a multicooker: the dish turns out no less tender and melts in your mouth, and at the same time the device cooks it independently.

Cooking time: 50 min.

Cooking time: 10 min.

Servings – 6.

Ingredients:

• Round rice (arborio) – 400 gr.
• Olive oil – 2 tbsp.
• Broth (vegetable, chicken) – 1 l
• Garlic – 2 teeth.
• Onions – 1 pc.
• Dry white wine – 2 tbsp.
• Butter – 70 gr.
• Celery (root) – ½ pc.
• Parmesan cheese – 100 gr.
• Vegetable oil - for frying.
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking process:

1. In a heat-resistant bowl with a thick bottom, you need to pre-fry the rice grains with the addition of a small amount of vegetable oil.

2. In a multicooker container, combine butter and vegetable oil, chopped onion, garlic and celery root and set to “Fry” mode, stirring regularly so that the vegetables soften, but do not overcook.

3. Add rice to the vegetables and continue cooking in the “Fry” mode until the grains become transparent.

4. Pour wine into the contents of the multicooker and cook in the “Stew” mode with the lid open until the wine is absorbed and the smell of alcohol disappears.

5. Pour 1.5 tbsp into the bowl of the device. broth, stir and continue cooking in the “Stew” mode. If you need to add liquid, do it in small portions, taste the cereal for salt and add if required. Do not forget that the dish will include cheese, so it is better to slightly undersalt the dish at this stage.

6. As soon as the rice reaches the desired consistency - tender on the outside with a slight hardness inside the grains - al dente, add cheese to it, stir and keep in the slow cooker for a couple more minutes. Then place on heated plates and serve.