Perfect Risotto In No Time?

What if we say that you don’t have to spend half an hour to get your risotto done every time you want it? 10 minutes at a maximum and there you have it – creamy, delicious, perfectly al dente individual rice grains that flow together like a hot wave of rice, if such comparison is appropriate. There is an old restaurant trick you might want to consider implementing into your kitchen routine, especially if you have some spare time now and won’t have it on a busy weekend when risotto and a glass of chilled wine is just what you really need.

The wine part is up to you, let’s get cracking with the rice thing!

When you cook rice, it absorbs moisture, its starch starts swelling and eventually it cooks to the point when one can say it’s ready to eat. Simple. Knowing that we could interfere with the cooking process and cease it towards the end when starches are still undercooked. We, then, want to cool the rice down as quickly as possible (still, to prevent it from cooking). Such an intermediate product can be stored for up to a week in a fridge – toss it in a pan when you are ready to cook and finish your mushroom risotto dish in 10 minutes.

Generally, what you want to do is to start cooking risotto up until rice is 70-80% done, take it away from the heat and pour it into some sheet pan or a hollow container to cool down. You want to even everything out, so that the heat could escape faster from the surface. Then seal the container and place it in a fridge.

When the party is around the corner, just take your half-cooked risotto and throw it into a pan with some water or, preferably, chicken or vegetable stock, heat it, constantly stirring, adding extra liquid as you go. You should soon see that your rice is becoming tender and creamy. Let it be a sign for your grated cheese to be prepared because it’s a sure thing that you’ve just made risotto in no time at all. Just for the record – don’t forget to enliven the dish with some extras. Toss in some spring onions with balsamic tomatoes, crab with peas, scallop and bacon, asparagus, you name it. And don’t forget to get a glass of chilled wine, but we sure you know it without our advice.