Cooking a risotto takes a fair amount of attention and work, adding stock a ladle at a time with almost constant stirring. The chemical process behind this makes sense to me. Are there any ways to short cut this process though? I'd like to be able to make a risotto with a little less attention. I'm wondering if some hybrid technique of early attention and later just adding liquid and letting it boil (or maybe the reverse) might provide a similar result with less work.
Are there any techniques to “cheat” at cooking a risotto
italian-cuisinerisottoshortcuts
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A few things that can help, if it's not an issue with fat like @Aaronut suggested:
- Tomato paste. Yes, I know it's a sacrelige, but it'll act as a thickener.
- Take the pasta out before it's gotten to al dente, and finish cooking it in the sauce; the pasta will absorb any extra liquid, and help to thicken the sauce.
- Do not rinse off the pasta after you drain it. Way too many people do, and it washes off the starch that you want for the sauce to bind to the pasta properly, and may introduce extra water.
I suggest getting a quality stainless clad saute pan or saucier. For years I made risotto in the All-Clad 3 qt. saute pan shown here:
Unless you're serving huge portions this is plenty of room for 6 servings of risotto. There are larger options available though, including a mammoth 14" 6 quart one.
This pan easily does 90% of the work in my kitchen, so at any price it carries its weight in the kitchen.
That said, this past Christmas I got the All-Clad 3 qt. copper-core saucier shown here:
It's a very close matchup, but this pan is perfect for making risotto. The higher sides are a definite benefit, but you don't sacrifice much in flat surface area. The copper core is amazingly responsive, noticeably more so than aluminum. It's obviously rather expensive, so if you're uncomfortable spending that much on a pan I'd suggest getting one of their regular 3 qt sauciers -- you'll spend at least half as much.
If I only had one pan in my kitchen though, I think I'd still go back to the saute pan above. Its versatility is just unmatched.
Regarding your concerns that a wider pan won't heat as evenly, this is generally true for a cheaper pan. However, All-Clad pans use magic to bond a layer of aluminum (or copper) between a layer of magnetic stainless (exterior) and 18/10 stainless (interior). The end result is a very even heat which you can actually confirm with an infrared thermometer.
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Best Answer
Actually I've found that constant stirring has little to no affect on the final product. You can simply stir rigorously at the last minute and achieve similar results. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself and you'll see.
Another trick is pre-cooking your rice. Just follow a standard risotto recipe but stop cooking the rice about half way through the process (about 10 minutes in or just before aldente). Strain the stock from the rice and pour it out onto a baking sheet to cool quickly. You can refrigerate it for up to a day. To finish it, just pick up where you left off and - presto - you've just cut out half the cooking time.
Cheers!