Carnaroli Rice Risotto
Carnaroli rice risotto, hydrated little by little with very hot stock and finished with mantecatura: an emulsion of cold butter, poached onion and reduced wine that gives it the shine and creaminess of a restaurant risotto.
- 415 g (14.6 oz) Carnaroli rice
- ~1,700 g (7 cups) chicken and vegetable stock, at a boil
- 35 g (1.25 oz) grated parmesan
- 85 g (3 oz) mantecatura (made ahead, see below) For the mantecatura (make it ahead: it needs hours in the freezer)
- 85 g (3 oz) unsalted butter total (8 g to poach + 77 g very cold, cubed)
- 43 g (1.5 oz) onion or shallot, in brunoise
- 68 ml (4.5 tbsp) dry white wine
- 26 ml (1.75 tbsp) white wine vinegar
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1
Mantecatura: poach the onion
In a small pan, put the 8 g of butter over the lowest heat. Once melted, add the 43 g of onion. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, without letting it take on color: it needs to turn soft and translucent, not golden.
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2
Reduce with wine and vinegar
Add the 68 ml of white wine and the 26 ml of vinegar. Bump the heat up a bit (medium-low) and let it reduce until it becomes a concentrated, syrup-like liquid: about 15 to 17 ml, almost nothing.
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3
Strain
Pass everything through a strainer, pressing the onion well with a spoon to get all the juice out. That liquid is what you'll use; discard the onion.
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4
Cool it down
Let the strained liquid cool completely to room temperature. If it's still warm when you mix it with the butter, everything melts and the mantecatura won't work.
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5
Combine and freeze
Once cold, mix it with the 77 g of cold, cubed butter until it forms an even paste. Freeze it until firm, like a hard block. It gets used this way, frozen and cut into cubes, at the very end of the risotto.
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6
Dry-toast the rice
Put the 415 g of rice in the hot pot, with no oil or fat, and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until the grains feel warm to the touch.
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7
Gradual hydration
Add the boiling stock 2 or 3 ladles at a time. Only add more once the previous batch is nearly absorbed, stirring often over medium-high heat. Up to 16 minutes total: it should be al dente with a bit of liquid left, not dry.
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8
Rest for 2 minutes
Turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 2 minutes without touching it.
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9
Mantecatura and cheese, with a wave motion
As soon as the 2 minutes are up, add all the frozen mantecatura along with the parmesan. Swirl the pan in a wave motion (mantecare) for 60 to 90 seconds, without adding anything else, until it turns creamy and glossy.
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10
Serve right away
Serve on a hot, flat plate the moment it's ready. The risotto should spread out on its own, without mounding up or pooling liquid.
- Use a wide, shallow pan, not a deep pot: that way the rice evaporates evenly and you control the texture better.
- The stock needs to be at a boil the whole time, right next to the pot. Adding it cold stops the rice from cooking properly.
- The mantecatura needs to be very cold, almost frozen, when you add it at the end: that's what gives the shine and creaminess without the sauce breaking.
- Warm the plate ahead of time: risotto cools down fast and needs to reach the table hot.
- Adding the mantecatura hot or lukewarm
- Not stirring enough during cooking: the rice needs friction to release its starch
- Letting the rice go dry, with no liquid left at all
- Serving it in a deep bowl: the risotto keeps cooking in its own heat and overshoots the point