Italian Cuisine – Best Side Dish to Have with Saltimbocca

One of my favorite recipes is Giada De Laurentis' Wild Mushroom with Peas. It's rather simple, but amazingly delicious.

The most common flubs when making a risotto are overcooking or dumping in all the liquid at once. I always use the wooden spoon test to determine when the risotto is finished.

First, stir often!

Periodically drag your spoon down the center of the pan as to part the risotto. If the path the spoon makes closes quickly then it isn't finished yet. If the part stays open, then you've overcooked it. Ideally it slowly oozes back together.

You're looking for two important things in a perfect risotto:

• Creamy
  • The finished risotto should be creamy, not runny, and not gummy. The spoon test takes care of this.
• Tender
  • The rice grains should be tender, not crunchy, and not mushy. You should taste frequently as you approach the end of the cooking time. You want the grains slightly al dente. You should know that you have rice in your mouth and not just a good tasting mystery-paste.

Any kind of flavoring, really, so long as the application will accept a syrup substance. They make killer milkshakes / malts. Add them to all kinds of desserts, beverages.

I've occasionally replaced extracts and granulated sugar in a recipe with a flavored syrup but you have to experiment with the right combinations as this tends to either overpower the dish with flavor or not make it as sweet.