Rice for risotto: varieties. How to choose rice for risotto?

Risotto at first glance may seem like a regular rice porridge with fillers to taste. Of course, such an assessment is erroneous, and all consumers are convinced of this. Silky, inexpressibly creamy texture does not leave anyone indifferent. Yes, the skilled hands of cooks are extremely important in its preparation, but the quality of products should not be forgotten. How to choose rice for risotto and what sorts of varieties are suitable, we will tell in this article, simultaneously giving several recipes.

Not so simple

It would seem that the difficult thing is to cook rice? However, in practice it turns out that this dish is one of the most difficult. Mastering the ability to cook risotto, the cook simultaneously learns a lot of subtleties, which affect his general ability to cook and raise the level of professionalism. This is not a rice porridge for breakfast, but a whole philosophy. Everything is important: what kind of rice for risotto you choose, what kind of vegetables you add, what kind of dishes you put in, with what mood you approach the process. The main thing is not only strict adherence to the prescription, add intuition and confidence in the correctness of your actions.

If to speak about rice, it must necessarily contain a large amount of starch (amylopectin, when it comes to contact with hot liquid it forms a transparent "paste"), which will provide a delicate creamy texture to the final dish.

Rice "arborio"

The most popular and familiar variety for Russians. The homeland of rice is Piedmont. The grains are large, loose, contain a large amount of amylopectin. To cook this rice for a risotto is very simple - a creamy texture is always formed. But the eaten food should be immediately after cooking, as the cooled "arborio" is a rough-sticky mass that is not subject to re-heating. Therefore, the Italians themselves use this variety to prepare basic types of risotto, which do not require complex suits. Risotto in Milan, mushrooms, spices - this "arborio" is enough for triumph. So if you are not sure which rice to choose for a risotto and does not have experience, it's best to take it.

Rice "carnaroli"

A popular sort of rice in Italy. It is slightly smaller than the "arborio" and more elongated. Starch in it is also smaller, because of what the finished dish, even cooled down, does not turn into unattractive porridge. "Carnaroli" - the ideal rice for risotto with a complex side dish.

Rice "vialone nano"

Find this variety in Russia is quite difficult, since there are no official importers able to provide them with a retail market. Therefore, you should count only on gifts from Italy or online purchases. This is the best rice for risotto: it is the most delicate, the most correct. Most loved at home, gives a very delicate cream texture. The best chefs around the world prefer it to him for the taste and aroma. Dishes are endlessly soft and tender. "Vialone nano", unlike "arborio", perfectly perform in recipes of any complexity.

Classic risotto recipe

Now let's proceed to the recipes. Indeed, why figure out what rice is needed for a risotto, and not use knowledge in practice? Let's start cooking risotto bianco (base without additional flavoring accents):

• Rice - 150 grams;
• Butter - 25 grams;
• Onion - 20 grams;
• Crushed parmesan - 20 grams;
• Vegetable broth - 500 ml;
• Wine dry white - 50 ml;
• Olive oil - 10 grams;
• Pepper and salt to taste.

Preparation

Which rice is better for risotto, we found out, now tell you how to cook it. By the way, all products are given for 2 servings, if you want, you can increase them.

As for the dishes, the ideal is an old cast-iron frying pan.

In a cold frying pan pour olive oil and add finely chopped onions.

Put all this on medium heat and fry the contents until transparent.

Pour rice to the onion and fry it until the tips of the grains become transparent at the ends. It is at this point that they absorb the tastes and aroma of butter and onions.

Pour into the rice for the risotto what you want alcohol (for example, optional white wine, it may be red), allow it to evaporate almost completely.

For 100 ml add vegetable broth, each time evaporating it. Constantly interfere.

To the last portion of the broth, your rice will be in the "al dente" state , i.e. Have a gentle consistency, but a slightly firm middle. The whole process will take about 17 minutes.

At the end of the period, the grains will swell, they will release the starch - then you need to remove the frying pan from the fire and let it stand for a minute, so that the rice rests.

Rub rice into the parmesan and butter, gently stirring. You will get a marvelous consistency of a rice cream holding a shape. Serve immediately.

For those who have not finished. Balls of aranchinies inside out

Yes, and Italians sometimes had a little risotto. Food should not be lost, decided the brave gourmets came up with a new dish - aranchini. It comes from Sicily and represents balls of risotto stuffed with meat or cheese and fried in a lot of oil. We offer you a wonderful dish, which differs from aranchinia in that the filling itself is a risotto. Otherwise, the technology is preserved:

• Ready risotto bianco - 200 grams;
• Shrimps peeled - 250 grams;
• Starch (better corn) - 25 grams;
• Salt with pepper to taste;
• Vegetable oil - 300 ml.

Doing

If, as luck would have it, you do not have rasotto residues, we strongly recommend to prepare a new portion (rice for risotto how to choose, we told you). Yes, it's troublesome, but it's worth it.

Grind the prawns with a blender into a homogeneous viscous paste, salt and pepper to taste.

From a cold risotto with wet hands, form balls the size of a walnut.

From shrimp paste, make a 0.5 centimeter cake and wrap the ball of risotto in it, leaving no gaps.

Sprinkle the starch on the saucer and roll the balls in it, spraying the prawn surface a little. Do not overdo it, you do not need a strong shell of starch.

Spread the vegetable oil in a sauté pan or deep frying pan.

On medium heat, fry the balls, periodically turning them over, to a firm golden crust. It takes about 6-7 minutes.

Lay the arancini inside out on a paper napkin to stack excess fat, and serve immediately!

Risotto with strawberries for dessert

We offer you a very-very non-standard version of dessert, which will make your taste even a festive table:

• Lean milk - 750 ml;
• Cinnamon - 1 stick;
• Strawberry fresh and frozen - 30 grams;
• Dried strawberry - 50 grams;
• Rice for risotto - 1 gram;
• Sugar - 250 grams;
• Butter - 30 grams.

How to cook

All products are given in 2 portions. If desired, proportionally increase all the components.

Strawberry wash, drain and remove all the branches.

Grind the berry, rub through a sieve to get rid of the bones, mix with sugar and put on a small fire. Bring to a boil and cook for a quarter of an hour, periodically taking off the foam.

Dried strawberries cut in half.

Milk warm, do not boil, add cinnamon. Keep warm.

In a frying pan with a thick bottom, melt the butter, pour the rice and fry over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Pour the milk into rice so that it only covers, intensively interfering. Add the next serving of milk when the previous one is absorbed into the rice.

After 10 minutes from the beginning of the rice preparation, add the strawberry syrup and dried berries.

Continue pouring in until rice is ready.

The dish is served both hot and cold, decorated with berries.

Taste variations

Above we gave the basic recipe for a white risotto bianca. Having mastered them, you can vary the taste of the dish at will, adding those or other products. Recall the step in which the rice is fried in oil with onion before adding broth. It is at this moment that it is the most "open" for all sorts of flavors and flavors, so treat yourself to the following combinations:

• Chop bacon (100 grams), dried tomatoes (100 grams) and basil (5-6 leaves), add to rice;
• Sea cocktail (250 grams) thaw, wash and dry, peel with one lemon sulphate, add to rice;
• Chicken fillet (200 grams) chop along with fresh mint (5-6 leaves), add to rice;
• Frozen green peas (200 grams) beat with boiling water and flip on a sieve, fresh mint (6-7 leaves) chop, add to rice;
• Mushrooms chop (300 grams), saffron (1 thread) soak in 1 tbsp. Spoon of broth, add in Fig.

Import substitution. Varieties of rice for risotto from Russia

How to be, if the risotto really wants, but about "carnaroli", "vialon nano" and even "arborio" can only dream of? On bezrybe and Krasnodar - Italy. In other words, you need to find rice with a lot of starch. Krasnodar description is suitable for this description. Of course, the effect will not be the same, but still you can try.