Italian risotto

Risotto is an inherent part of Italian cuisine, like pasta or pizza. This is a universal dish that will suit both meat lovers and vegetarians. Ingredients for risotto, the recipe of which has been developed and supplemented over the years, is the simplest. The basic risotto recipe includes broth, rice and onion. Very often, risotto is confused with the Spanish paella.

Rice dishes came to Italy from India. At first, rice was used only for cosmetic purposes – for making creams or medicinal decoctions. And then rice migrated to the kitchen. Rice dishes in Italy have become an important part of the family table home cooking, as well as an important part of the menu in many restaurants.

The risotto rice must be special. To make the dish creamy and delicate, Italians use arborio rice. This type of rice is grown in Piedmont for a long time. It is best suited for risotto, thanks to its delicate texture. The pips become soft, but do not boil soft.

The basic risotto recipe has its short history. Italians tell everyone that risotto appeared thanks to a careless chef. He put the rice soup to boil and forgot about it. The broth boiled away, and the soft rice porridge turned out to be very tasty. Therefore, he added spices, meat, and then became famous for this dish.

Different kinds of risotto

Risotto, like Italian pasta has many kinds. The secrets of cooking risotto for each chief are different: you can cook rice with vegetables in a pan, you can cook it with meat or seafood. Here is a list of the top risotto types that are famous around the world.

1. Risotto with mushrooms

This is a classic Italian risotto recipe. For its cooking it is used mushrooms of different types, so that the dish has a spicy mushroom smell. Prepare risotto with mushrooms in vegetable broth with olive oil and parmesan cheese. The main spices are black ground pepper and garlic. And we have very tasty vegetarian dish.

2. Risotto with vegetables

Vegetable risotto is an easy and healthy dish that can be eaten even by people on a diet. Vegetables are fried in a pan, and dry white wine and butter are added to the rice. Wine helps to keep the rice its creamy structure after cooking, so that the risotto is very delicate in taste. Prepare rice preferably in three stages: first in water, then with wine and then with cheese. Thanks to this sequence, rice porridge will be with necessary consistency.

3. Risotto with chicken

For this type of risotto, it is need to cook rice in chicken broth. Carrot or celery is added to the rice for spice taste. The meat after the broth is cut into slices and added to the rice.

4. Risotto with mussel

It is usually prepared in olive oil, but in the north of Italy cream is more often used. Probably because there are still more cows than olives. In Italy, fresh mussels are used without shells, but sometimes the recipe is changed in favor of canned mussels in oil. Then this oil can be used for cooking.

Italian risotto in Ukraine

You do not need to add any sauce to risotto. The only addition to it, at the end of cooking, is hard cheese. It is best to use parmesan. In Ukraine, risotto is often used as a side dish. Italians are offended by this fact, because risotto is a separate independent dish. With it you can eat salads, but nothing more.

In our restaurant Mercato Italiano we offer you to try 4 types of risotto:

• four cheese risotto
• truffle risotto
• seafood risotto
• risotto Milanese with shrimp

Risotto is a great dish for dinner or lunch. In combination with Italian wine, this dish for a moment takes you straight from Kiev to Italy.