Question about risotto in food TV show?

[pictonguy]

I don't actually have a recipe but this should be close.

Ok then, and this will be for a mushroom risotto. Couple of things first. Use a decent stainless frying pan, no aluminum, carbon or non stick. For home use I use a 10" stainless saute pan. Heat 2 liters of stock on the stove and keep warm. I use home made chicken stock but you can use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version. This is one of the few recipes where I'll use dried mushroom. So reconstitute and add as little or as much of the liquid (strained) as you want to the stock and adjust for the 2 liter amount. Keep the mushrooms for later. Risotto is very easy to cook, unfortunately many people overthink it. Overcooking is probably the biggest error I see.

Ingredients:

1 cup Carnaroli rice
1 tbsp evoo
3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup of diced mushrooms, your choice, including the dry mushrooms
1/4 cups or so of white wine
4 cups of broth, kept hot
1/2 cup or so grated parmigiana or pecorino
salt and pepper to taste during the stock addition, near the end, keep in mind the cheese is salty or just add at the end.

Optional: parsley. Also I like rosemary cooked with the onions

Method:

Heat saute pan to medium heat and add the evoo and 1.5 tbsp butter, Sautee onion until soft without color then add the rice and allow the rice to toast which will result in the rice sticking to the pan a little, the rice will become opaque around the edges, add the mushrooms and continue to cook until their water is removed making sure the temp isn't hot enough to burn anything. Add the white wine and reduce until almost dry. Start adding the broth allowing enough to just cover the rice and you want to maintain this level of liquid throughout the cooking process, never allow the liquid to mostly be absorbed. Check for doneness and this process will take around 15 to 18 minutes then adding the butter and cheese off the heat. Depending on your preference of consistency the last addition of stock can be adjusted to allow for a more liquid and runny risotto or it can be cooked until rather dry before adding the butter and cheese. That should be more than enough stock.

 

[Meryl]

I don't actually have a recipe but this should be close.

Ok then, and this will be for a mushroom risotto. Couple of things first. Use a decent stainless frying pan, no aluminum, carbon or non stick. For home use I use a 10" stainless saute pan. Heat 2 liters of stock on the stove and keep warm. I use home made chicken stock but you can use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version. This is one of the few recipes where I'll use dried mushroom. So reconstitute and add as little or as much of the liquid (strained) as you want to the stock and adjust for the 2 liter amount. Keep the mushrooms for later. Risotto is very easy to cook, unfortunately many people overthink it. Overcooking is probably the biggest error I see.

Ingredients:

1 cup Carnaroli rice
1 tbsp evoo
3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup of diced mushrooms, your choice, including the dry mushrooms
1/4 cups or so of white wine
4 cups of broth, kept hot
1/2 cup or so grated parmigiana or pecorino
salt and pepper to taste during the stock addition, near the end, keep in mind the cheese is salty or just add at the end.

Optional: parsley. Also I like rosemary cooked with the onions

Method:

Heat saute pan to medium heat and add the evoo and 1.5 tbsp butter, Sautee onion until soft without color then add the rice and allow the rice to toast which will result in the rice sticking to the pan a little, the rice will become opaque around the edges, add the mushrooms and continue to cook until their water is removed making sure the temp isn't hot enough to burn anything. Add the white wine and reduce until almost dry. Start adding the broth allowing enough to just cover the rice and you want to maintain this level of liquid throughout the cooking process, never allow the liquid to mostly be absorbed. Check for doneness and this process will take around 15 to 18 minutes then adding the butter and cheese off the heat. Depending on your preference of consistency the last addition of stock can be adjusted to allow for a more liquid and runny risotto or it can be cooked until rather dry before adding the butter and cheese. That should be more than enough stock.

That's how I make mine, I just add the butter at the end and not at the beginning, but that's my personal preference. Sometimes I sautée the mushrooms separately and then add them half way through the risotto, depending on what type of mushrooms they are,I remember once they ended up over-cooked, a bit "mushy".
Same process when I make pumpkin risotto which I'll soon be making, seeing as Autumn is knocking at the door.

 

[pictonguy]

That's how I make mine, I just add the butter at the end and not at the beginning, but that's my personal preference. Sometimes I sautée the mushrooms separately and then add them half way through the risotto, depending on what type of mushrooms they are,I remember once they ended up over-cooked, a bit "mushy".
Same process when I make pumpkin risotto which I'll soon be making, seeing as Autumn is knocking at the door.

Yeah, sautéing mushrooms separately is done all the time and I've done that myself on occasion. I also sometimes add the dried mushrooms during the stock addition and just let them re hydrate and add their flavor as they cook. It's vitally important to experiment while cooking, this is where we grow exponentially as cooks.

I add half the butter at the beginning and finish off heat with the other half of the butter because I find it adds a depth of flavor much like adding salt during cooking as opposed to just adding it at the end, but there is no real wrong way it's just mostly experimentation that leads a person to hopefully find a more tasteful solution and sometimes it goes the other way, which is why we attempt it in the first place.

Yeah the squash is just coming into season here and made some ravioli saturday and used brown butter to add flavor which is something I haven't done before and it worked out well, but then again I've been on a brown butter bender lately.

 

[dragnlaw]

I think the first recipe I ever used for risotto added the butter at the end - so that's what I've always done.
Sort of like adding butter at the end for a sauce/gravy not to mention traditional mussels.

 

[pictonguy]

Butter is added at the end.

I add half the butter at the beginning and finish off heat with the other half of the butter because I find it adds a depth of flavor much like adding salt during cooking as opposed to just adding it at the end, but there is no real wrong way it's just mostly experimentation that leads a person to hopefully find a more tasteful solution and sometimes it goes the other way, which is why we attempt it in the first place.[quote/]

 

[Jade Emperor]

Yes butter and cheese (if using) at the end. It brings the gloss.

 

[Meryl]

Yeah, sautéing mushrooms separately is done all the time and I've done that myself on occasion. I also sometimes add the dried mushrooms during the stock addition and just let them re hydrate and add their flavor as they cook. It's vitally important to experiment while cooking, this is where we grow exponentially as cooks.

I add half the butter at the beginning and finish off heat with the other half of the butter because I find it adds a depth of flavor much like adding salt during cooking as opposed to just adding it at the end, but there is no real wrong way it's just mostly experimentation that leads a person to hopefully find a more tasteful solution and sometimes it goes the other way, which is why we attempt it in the first place.

Yeah the squash is just coming into season here and made some ravioli saturday and used brown butter to add flavor which is something I haven't done before and it worked out well, but then again I've been on a brown butter bender lately.

I've never tried making "ravioli alla zucca", I may try this Autumn. I've seen many different recipes which add amaretti biscuits - crumbled - to the filling, but I don't really like them, the browned butter sounds good, I've never had a go at that either, afraid of burning it.

 

[dragnlaw]

I've only made browned butter a couple of times and only in very small quantities. Just enough for my serving of ravioli. I also put a couple of sage leaves in it to toast. I've been lucky with the small amounts. Not so sure I would be that lucky with a larger amount! LOL.
I have made ghee a couple of times and that's worked out well.

 

[pictonguy]

I've never tried making "ravioli alla zucca", I may try this Autumn. I've seen many different recipes which add amaretti biscuits - crumbled - to the filling, but I don't really like them, the browned butter sounds good, I've never had a go at that either, afraid of burning it.

Yeah, pumpkin is great and have made ravioli with pumpkin many times and have use amaretti cookies when my chef showed me when I worked in an Italian kitchen many years ago which is a regional dish from the Lombardy region with of course parmigiana added and always with a butter and sage sauce which was also traditional with that dish.

Brown butter can be intimidating but it's really quite easy. Right now I make a brown butter mayo for lobster rolls and also add it to a puree of parsnips. If your worried about burning it just use a lower heat, I use high, but you can use a heat a little lower and when it begins to darken and you will smell that nutty aroma, no doubt about it and then take it off the heat for a few minutes, it will continue to darken and then it's just easy to put it back on the heat and brown it more and after doing it this way a few times it should train you to make it in one go. Oh, and larger amount of butter are much easier to make.

 

[dragnlaw]

**** and then take it off the heat for a few minutes, it will continue to darken and then it's just easy to put it back on the heat and brown it more and after doing it this way a few times it should train you to make it in one go. Oh, and larger amount of butter are much easier to make.

I think that's when I actually burn it on occasion. I use quite a small but heavy pot and think the heat retained was/is enough to go to far.

Question: Can you make/store browned butter to use later? I know, of course, it is done with ghee. I shouldn't think browned butter is any different but thought I'd ask. Like could I make it earlier in the week?

 

[medtran49]

When I make brown butter with sage, I put whole sage leaves in with butter while browning, then remove the whole leaves toward the end of browning the butter and immediately stir in freshly sliced/chopped sage leaves. That way, you won't have a bunch of crispy critter leaves you have to pick out.

 

[pictonguy]

Yes, brown butter stores well.

 

[Meryl]

Yeah, pumpkin is great and have made ravioli with pumpkin many times and have use amaretti cookies when my chef showed me when I worked in an Italian kitchen many years ago which is a regional dish from the Lombardy region with of course parmigiana added and always with a butter and sage sauce which was also traditional with that dish.

Brown butter can be intimidating but it's really quite easy. Right now I make a brown butter mayo for lobster rolls and also add it to a puree of parsnips. If your worried about burning it just use a lower heat, I use high, but you can use a heat a little lower and when it begins to darken and you will smell that nutty aroma, no doubt about it and then take it off the heat for a few minutes, it will continue to darken and then it's just easy to put it back on the heat and brown it more and after doing it this way a few times it should train you to make it in one go. Oh, and larger amount of butter are much easier to make.

Thank you @pictonguy, very useful hints, I'll try and make some "beurre noisette" soon and perhaps use it with sage to season tortellini, instead of plain, melted butter.

Yes, the city of Mantova is apparently where the famous "tortelli alla zucca" originate. When we buy pumpkin in supermarkets, the Mantovana is a favourite.

 

[dragnlaw]

you won't have a bunch of crispy critter leaves

LOL - I like them crispy, not burnt mind you, just crispy.