Risotto And My Italian Roots

One of my first memorable food smells comes courtesy of my Grandma Moresco. The aroma that emanated from the kitchen while she was cooking risotto was so memorable that 20 years later I finally figured it out. Occasionally I would be in a restaurant, or working in a kitchen and I would get a small smell of the intoxicating aroma. Momentarily I was transported back to my Grandparents house when I was 7 years old. Even though I would get small glimpses of the smell every once in a while, I really never knew where the smell originated from. That was until one day, my chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek was playing around with a special. He was sautéing a part of a chicken to create a sauce. Instantly I knew what my Grandmother used those many years ago in her risotto recipe. CHICKEN LIVERS. That's right, I said chicken livers. If you have never had the pleasure of the aroma they give off while being sautéed, I urge you to wait and pass judgment until you do so! Liver is one of those rich, fatty pieces that just melts away in your mouth. Duck and chicken livers are delicacy that I absolutely love. Foie gras anything and I am in heaven. I will tip toe gently around how the poor duck is force feed to enlarge its liver. Foie gras is way too good to ban!

So let's move ahead before the animal rights activists track me down on my blog and berate me. I have seen risotto made many different ways, with many different ingredients. Once you have mastered the art of making risotto, it provides a blank canvas for any ingredient to be added in. I have to say that one of the best I have ever had was my Grandmas. Now I don't know her exact recipe, but since I have made risotto many times I am going to guess at how she made hers. I believe she had to have started by sautéing chicken livers in a large pot. After the livers where nice and golden brown, she removed them and added in diced onion and garlic. She sweated the onion and garlic till it was transparent then added in the carnaroli rice. I will note here that later in the post I will touch on the definition of risotto. After toasting the carnaroli rice, she added a generous amount of white wine. She then cooked the wine down till it was almost dry. She then added enough hot chicken stock to just cover the rice. She stirred and stirred until all the stock was absorbed and then she added more. She repeated this process for about 20 minutes or so until the rice was creamy and al dente. That is how I envisioned my Grandma's risotto making to go. I plan on asking her if she will share her recipe with me and see how my analysis compares.

So what is the definition of risotto? Risotto refers to both the dish and also the technique. The technique is to add small amounts of hot stock to the rice and let the rice absorb and release its starch. The release of starch is what creates the creamy texture of risotto. The rice varieties make all the difference in the risotto.

"A high-starch (amylopectin), low-amylose round medium grain rice is used to make risotto. Such rices have the ability to absorb liquids and to release starch and so they are stickier than the long grain varieties. The principal varieties used in Italy are Carnaroli^[1] and Vialone Nano ^[2]and to a lesser degree Arborio.^[3] Carnaroli and Vialone Nano are considered to be the best (and most expensive) varieties, with different users preferring one over the other. They have slightly different properties: for example Carnaroli is less likely to get overcooked than Vialone Nano, but the latter being smaller cooks faster and some say^[who?] absorbs condiments better. Other varieties like Roma, Baldo, Ribe and Originario may be used but will not have the creaminess of the traditional dish. These varieties are considered better for other non-risotto rice dishes and for making sweet rices. Rice designations of Superfino, Semifino (varietie Maratelli) and fino refer to the size and shape (narrowness) of the grains, not the quality." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risotto

I am very proud of my risotto ability. It is a very rewarding dish to make because it takes patience and time. Then end result is nothing short of amazing though. To coax the starch out of a grain of rice is worth the time it takes. So I suggest the next time you are in the mood for Italian food, don't order pizza, instead make yourself some risotto. And if you really want to taste and smell something amazing, use the chicken livers!