How To Make Restaurant-Quality Risotto At Home

Patience is key.

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Make sure you pick the right rice.

Like arborio rice — which is a short-grain rice with a high starch content. It'll yield the creamiest result.

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Use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water.

You can use water if you're in a pinch, but stock will add much more flavor.

And prep enough stock for your rice.

It's hard to say exactly how much stock you'll end up needing but a good ratio to keep in mind is 4 to 6 cups of stock for 1 cup of rice. (And when in doubt, warm up more stock than necessary to make sure you don't run out in the middle of cooking.)

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Bring your stock to a boil in advance and have it warm and ready on the side when you start cooking the rice.

If you add cold stock to the hot pot of rice, you'll cool down the ingredients and slow the cooking process down. So, bring the stock to a boil, then lower the heat so it's just simmering, and keep it next to the pot of rice.

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Cook your aromatics and let them get fragrant before you add the rice.

Order is key, and with risotto, it's important to add things in stages. Start off with the aromatics — like onions, shallots, or scallions. Cook them for a few minutes in some olive oil, until they're translucent and fragrant. Then, add some veggies (if you're using any), garlic, herbs, a knob of butter, and cook for a few minutes until the veggies are tender. Last, add your rice.

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Once you add it to the pot, toast the rice — but be careful not to burn it.

Stir the rice until it's fully coated with the veggie mixture. Toasting the rice shouldn't take more than a minute or two, so be careful not to let it cook like that for too long. Otherwise, it'll burn.

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For even more flavor, add a splash of white wine before adding the stock.

The wine will provide the boost or flavor and acidity that risotto needs to achieve peak deliciousness. If you don't want to use wine, you can replace it with lemon juice. When the wine is cooked off, start adding the stock.

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When it comes to adding the stock and cooking the rice, be super patient.

That's really the secret to making a good risotto. Don't try to rush the process by adding a lot of stock to the pot at once. If you do that, your risotto won't cook evenly and the whole thing will turn into a soupy mess.

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Then add just enough stock to cover the rice...

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... and stir pretty constantly until the stock is absorbed.

Once it's absorbed, continue to add more stock little by little, just enough to cover the rice each time.

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Stop adding the stock once your rice is al dente.

This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. You'll know it's done when the rice still has a little bit of firmness left in it and the texture of the dish is creamy.

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A good test to know if it's ready: If you can pull a spoon through the risotto and it slowly oozes back in place, you're good to go.

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Add some Parmesan at the end to make the whole thing even creamier.

Give it a good stir and serve right way. Enjoy!

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