Risotto

Method

1. sweat7 min
   medium-low, 2 tbsp butter, no colour
   onion (+ olive oil) until soft and translucent. Colour here would carry through the whole dish; risotto is a pale, mild base and browned onion reads as a different recipe
2. toast3 min
   heat up slightly, rice dry into the fat, stirred
   + rice, stirred until the grains are coated and their edges turn glassy while the centres stay chalky white. The tostatura firms the outside of each grain so it holds its shape through half an hour of stirring — skip it and the grains break down into porridge before they are cooked through
3. deglaze3 min
   wine in all at once, stirred until the pan is almost dry
   + white wine, cooked off until no raw alcohol smell remains. The acid is doing real work beyond flavour — it firms the grain surface further and keeps the finished dish from tasting flat under all that butter and cheese
4. simmer20 min
   hot stock a ladle at a time, medium, stirred often
   + stock, adding the next ladle only when the previous one has nearly gone, until the grains are tender with the faintest resistance at the centre. Two things are happening: the grains absorb liquid, and rubbing against each other sheds amylopectin into it, which is what thickens the dish. Cold stock stops the pan every time you add it, and the temperature swing is what makes grains cook unevenly
5. emulsify4 min
   off the heat, remaining cold butter and cheese, beaten hard for a minute
   + cold butter + parmesan + salt (+ pepper), beaten in vigorously, then covered and left one minute. This is the mantecatura: cold fat beaten into the hot starch suspension emulsifies rather than melting into a slick, and it is what makes risotto creamy without cream. It should spread slowly on a tilted plate — if it stands in a mound it is too dry, so loosen with stock