4 Levels of Risotto: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

We challenged chefs of three different skill levels – amateur John, home cook Diane, and professional chef Lish Steiling – to make us their take on a classic risotto. Once each level of chef had presented their creations, we asked expert food scientist Rose to explain the choices each made along the way. Which risotto would get you stirring the pot?

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[pan sizzles] [knife chops] [liquid gurgles] [upbeat music] – I am John and I’m a level one chef. – I’m Diane and I’m a level two chef. – I’m Lish and I’ve been a professional chef for over 25 years. [upbeat music] – Everybody likes risotto. It’s a crowd pleaser no matter where you go.

– I’m using a different kind of rice, which I feel like is gonna be really controversial. – I’m making bubbles and caviar risotto. You’re gonna have to stick around so that you can find out what all that means. [bright music] [knife slices] – First, I’m gonna start by prepping all my ingredients.

I have no tricks about how to not get corn everywhere, but my dog loves it. I chose the corn and the tomatoes just because when I think about risotto, I feel like it’s always like mushrooms or butternut squash and kind of like colder weather. So I wanted to try something

That would be a little lighter and brighter. – I like to keep it nice and simple, but also a little bit helpful. So I’m gonna add mushrooms and asparagus. A nice inch of the ends there. Wait, were these pre-trimmed? – The flavor profile I’m looking for in my risotto

Is actually clean and refreshing. We’re gonna add some scallops, bit of that ocean flavor. – Scallops would be great in risotto. – Then the fresh licorice flavor, I guess, of fennel and chives because that just brightens everything and makes everything happy. – Now for the mushrooms, roughly the same size as the asparagus.

People are gonna, again, come for me with the chopping, but I don’t care. It’s my knife. They always say, “John’s gonna get hurt,” and I’m like, yeah, I definitely have been. – Nice, thin little ribbons of basil. Woo! – I’m gonna address my fennel here for a little savory sweetness.

I’m gonna use the bulb for my risotto, but I like to use the fronds as well for a little gourmet garnish, if you will. So these perfect little light green ones, that’s what you’re looking for. It’s gonna impart that bright licorice freshness to the garnish of the dish.

– I’m gonna use Parmesan to thicken it up and it’s gonna add like a nice salt to it as well. And the next thing is my shrimp. I bought these really nice big jumbo shrimp with the shells on so that I can use them to enhance my stock along with the corn cobs.

– So I chose scallops today. These are beautiful, large dry pack scallops. They’re gonna add a little fresh ocean sweetness to the dish, and it’s gonna pair perfectly with the risotto. – So now I’m gonna saute my vegetables. I like to precook them, put ’em on the side,

And then add them into the risotto at the end. Just got some simple olive oil. – I’m gonna use avocado oil ’cause it has a higher smoke point. It actually doesn’t burn as quickly as olive oil does. – I’m just gonna saute this for about three to four minutes,

And really what I’m looking for is everything getting a little browner, a little softer. – I wanna make sure that my scallops are super dry. You want dry food to hit a hot pan. Season generously with salt. – And pepper.

I think really for a lot of food, all you need is some salt, pepper, and oil, and it’s delicious. Keep things simple. Just let the flavor of the food come out. – Little bit of olive oil into my pan. [pan sizzles] – Ooh, bubbles.

They’re starting to get a nice little browning to them. Oh, yeah. See? It’s starting to curl up. – Scallops cook very quickly. They don’t need much time at all. I just wanna get brown on the first side. You can smell the sweetness coming out. It smells like the ocean. Hello, lover!

– [Diane] It’s got that nice char. – The asparagus is that bright green color now, so you can tell it’s cooked. The mushrooms are getting smaller. – And it’s got this beautiful peachy color. So ready to go. – Ready to go. Oh!

– Now I’m just gonna add a little nubbin of butter here. All right, I’m gonna remove these from the heat. Give ’em a little squeeze. Oh, those are perfect. I can tell they’re done because they’ve definitely changed in texture, but they’re still soft in the center. That’s what I’m looking for.

And woo, you see that? That little jiggle? It’s almost like jello. Stock is such an important part of risotto because it’s really what flavors the whole dish. The rice absorbs it. So the rice ends up tasting like what it absorbs, right? So you really need to build a solid base to start with.

– My risotto broth is super complicated. I’m gonna take this so bought broth and pour it in the bot. Why make it from scratch? – I’m using so bought vegetable broth. I’m doing this like no-stir technique, so I’m rinsing the rice in the vegetable stock.

So that’s some of that starchiness releases into the broth and it should thicken up with way less stirring. I’m just gonna give it a quick strain. – We have a little bit of toasted fennel seed here about two teaspoons. We’re just gonna break ’em up a little bit in the mortar and pestle

To bring out some of those aromatics. A little bit of the oil. One bay leaf. Two garlic cloves, smashed and peeled. Just some thyme. Bruise it up a little bit. Get the aromatics going. Ooh, that smells good. Lemon zest. I want this to be a very clean stock,

Light, flavorful, citrusy, a little sweetness. I have some shallots, halved. Very simple. You don’t even have to peel ’em if you don’t want. And a couple of Parmesan cheese rinds, Parmigiano Reggiano. These not only add a lot of flavor to the stock, but they’re also delicious to nibble on at the end.

I’m gonna cover it with a bunch of water here. I’m gonna let this come to a simmer. After about 45 minutes to an hour, I’ll taste it, strain it, and then I’m gonna get my risotto going. – I’m taking the broth that I rinsed the rice in,

And now I’m just adding the shrimp shells and the corn cobs for a little more depth of flavor. I’m gonna bring this up to a boil and then I’ll drop the heat down and simmer it for about 30 minutes. – I’m just gonna let the broth come to a simmer

Because we’ll use it little by little when making the risotto. – I have my stock here and it’s been infused with the corn and the shrimp shells, so I’m gonna remove that. It has this like really nice sweetness to it from the corn cobs and you can taste the shrimpy flavor.

– My stock’s ready to go. Looks good. So I’m just gonna strain this through a fine mesh strainer, push out any of the extra juices that might be in there. I’m gonna season my stock with salt. I want whatever I’m using to be well seasoned

So that all of that flavor goes into the rice. Hmm, light and refreshing. Delicious. – So now the fun part: to actually make the risotto. So the first step, I’m actually gonna saute my shallots in butter and olive oil. – There’s the great debate of do you use butter?

Do you use olive oil? Why not use both! – I’m doing a big mixture of butter and avocado oil. The butter is, I mean, it’s butter, so it’s delicious. The avocado oil will keep it from burning. – I have some shallots. – I use shallots because it’s kind of a hybrid

Between garlic and onion, so you get the flavors of both in one. – Some finely diced fennel. I love the earthy licorice flavor of fennel. A little bit of salt. If you could smell what I smell right now, this is a chef’s happy place. I’m not trying to brown the vegetables,

I’m just trying to soften them and bring out their best flavors. – The most important thing about making a risotto is the rice. I feel like this is gonna be controversial, but I’m gonna be using Bomba rice. Because this rice absorbs more water, it will keep my risotto from being too gummy

So it’ll still be kind of firm. – So I’m gonna take a cup of Arborio rice. – I am using Vialone Nano rice. This is a medium grain rice, but it’s still round in shape and it’s very forgiving. – [John] All I wanna do is toast it a little bit

So that it brings out that nutty flavor of the Arborio. – This is just readying the rice, basically. It’s making it taste a little bit more like the grain itself, and it’s gonna stop it from breaking apart when I actually cook it. – It smells perfect right now. It’s kind of nutty,

And so that’s how you know when it’s ready. – A little white wine. – I feel like you can’t really go wrong with wine and butter in general. – And I’m gonna let that cook until the wine fully absorbs into the rice. It adds a nice flavor, it helps deglaze the pan,

Any bits from the bottom that are stuck. – I’m gonna use bubbles because why not? I love bubbles. I love the flavor of Cava so that is what I’m gonna use. In the end you’ll see why bubbles go with the particular topping that’s going on to finish the dish.

So Cava is basically Spain’s answer to Prosecco, Champagne, but it’s dry, it’s bubbly, it’s delicious. [Cava sizzles] – I just got so excited about the wine, I forgot to put in my aromatics. So I’m gonna add in onions, garlic, shallots. – You can see that it’s already bringing out

Some of the starches in my rice, which is great. That’s exactly what I want. – Now that it’s reduced by about half, I’m going to add in my stock. – About a cup or so at a time. – If you do it all at once, it’s not gonna absorb nicely.

– You want to continue to stir and let the rice absorb the stock as it needs to absorb the stock. And as you’re stirring, you are releasing some of those starches, and that’s what is gonna give you that velvety saturation on the rice. – This dish is a labor of love,

But I promise you it’s worth it. That’s why it costs a lot at the restaurants. – I am gonna try this no stir method, just ’cause like I don’t have a lot of time sometimes, so I’m gonna just add in most of my stock and just save about a cup of it

And then let it do its thing. I’m gonna bring it up to a boil. I’m going to lower it down to a simmer and then I’m gonna cover it. – I have heard of the no-stir method. I have not tried it. I would be curious to know the result.

– You know, you could just tell that it’s getting more like a porridge, if you will. It looks creamy, classic risotto consistency. It smells amazing, but we’re almost there. – For me, the ideal texture of risotto, it has movement when you stir it,

And even when you plate it like you should plate it and it still like oozes on the plate and then it comes to a stop. This is looking really good. It’s super close. I’m gonna add one more ladle of stock here and give it a taste and see where I’m at.

Around each individual kernel of rice you can see that wave happening. Ah! If that doesn’t make you happy, come on. – I’m gonna give a little check to see how it’s going. Oh, it looks great. It smells so good. I’m gonna give it a little stir and shake

Just to see where it’s at. Yes, and it’s perfect. It’s not sticking to the bottom. It’s like nice. All the rice is like kind of separated. It’s good, it’s good. It’s almost there. But I’m gonna add in my tomatoes and corn now and just go start cooking these down.

– Final taste, but I think we’re there. Hmm, perfect! And now for my secret ingredient, which is actually not so secret, but something that’s totally optional: grated cheese, – Parmigiano Reggiano is the king of cheeses. I am sorry, but I’m from Wisconsin, and Parm Reg is the way to go.

This is gonna just finish off that creaminess of the risotto and it’s salty, it’s umami. – Give it that nice creamy texture that we’re looking for. I think that the rice is in a good place so I’m gonna add in the rest of my stock.

I’m gonna raise the heat up to high heat so that I can continue to let it cook down and reduce the amount of liquid. And we’re almost done here. I’m gonna start just to make sure that nothing sticks and all the flavors are getting incorporated into the risotto.

This no-stir method is so quick and fast. My risotto’s already there. It’s like 10 minutes faster than I thought it was gonna be. – The rice is definitely cooked in al dente. The only way to know if risotto is done is taste it. Delicious. – My very last step

Is to add in the mushrooms and asparagus. I want these vegetables fully incorporated into the risotto. I love it when you get a bite and every bite of rice has some vegetables in it. God, this looks so good! I’m so excited! As you guys know, I like to eat,

So I’m gonna put a lot it on this plate. Come on. That looks like restaurant quality! You kidding me? – My risotto’s about done and you can see the rice is like nice and separated, but still kind of like creamy. It has such great color

From the red and the yellow of the corn, add a little butter for that je ne sais quoi that butter can only provide. Add a little pepper, which also just kind of adds a nice color to it too. Just another little texture. I’m just piling on my risotto onto my plate.

I’m gonna put the shrimp on top. I’m gonna add a little bit of the basil to give it that nice color and also that freshness to it. – Our risotto is done, so I wanna get it on the plate ASAP so you can see that movement that I was talking about.

It shouldn’t just sit up like mashed potatoes. It should flow. If your risotto doesn’t move, it means that you need a little bit more broth to it. And don’t be afraid to add some more broth. This rice can take it. This is where we’re gonna make it seductively sexy.

So little creme fraiche right in the middle. I didn’t finish with butter. So the creme fraiche is acting as that extra creamy element. But you have acid too, which is beautiful in a dish like this since it’s so clean and fresh and delightful. Scallops go on.

I’m doing bubbles and caviar because why not? Osetra caviar is clean, fresh. It has a nice little pop to it, and it tastes like the sea, honestly. All right, I’m gonna do a little bit of chive right in the middle here on the creme fraiche, fennel frond on top of each scallop.

Oh mama. And then secret weapon, a little bit of fennel pollen. Fennel pollen is actually the pollen of the fennel, and it also has just this kind of elegance to the dish. – This is my risotto. – And this is my risotto. – This is my risotto. – This looks so good.

It smells amazing, and I’m really hungry so let’s dig in. Not to pat myself on the own back, but. – All right, let’s try it. The best part of cooking. Hmm. – Hmm. Oh my God! I’ve done a lot of these damn videos, this might be my best one yet.

It’s creamy, it’s warm, it’s soft, like I mentioned. Woodsy and nutty and and cheesy from the Parm. It’s so good. I’m gonna eat this whole plate. – The texture of the shrimp is perfect. You have like the little pops of the corn, which is really nice.

– The Cava, the fennel, the caviar, the scallops, it builds this beautiful light, bright umami goodness that you can’t even make up. And then the creaminess of the risotto still has the al dente individual rice texture. It’s just, it’s a stunning dish. [dramatic music] – Risotto is a rice dish made creamy

By the method of preparation. It’s silky with a slight chew and just wonderful. Let’s see how each of our three chefs made their version. [dramatic music] Rice is high in starch. A large molecule made of glucose units linked together, classified by its size from short and medium to long grain.

John used our Arborio, a superfino or high quality Italian rice, Arborio is a medium-grained specialty rice that’s two to three times as wide as it is long. Arborio releases some of the starch into the broth while also absorbing some of the flavor of the broth, thickening it to the consistency of a sauce.

John toasted his rice in olive oil and butter. Lish lightly toasted her rice until it had just a hint of color. The lipids coat the rice grains keeping them separated as broth is added. As starch browns, it breaks into smaller units of glucose, making it slightly sweet.

John used hot broth and added it gradually to his rice. Adding hot stock one ladle at a time continues the gradual cooking process and coaxes more starch out of the rice, thickening the broth and making it creamy. Diane didn’t use the traditional risotto method.

Instead, she soaked her rice in cold stock to extract starch and only stirred occasionally during cooking. Constant patient stirring causes friction between the grains and encourages rice starch to slowly release into the broth for a creamy and luxurious sauce. Only occasional stirring, however, causes some of the rice to stick

And break apart, so it’s still thick, but less creamy and decadent. After toasting, all three chefs added a splash of alcohol. The acid in Lish’s wine causes partial hydrolysis of the starch molecules into smaller glucose units, so there’s even more sweetness here in her risotto. [dramatic music] John added asparagus and cremini mushrooms.

Creminis are earthy and savory and really just white or portobello mushrooms picked at a different stage of ripening. Diane added shrimp, corn, and tomatoes. It was really mouthwatering with the corn adding a pop of sweetness and a textural contrast from the soft risotto. Lish added seared dry pack scallops.

Dry pack have a more concentrated sweet flavor from higher glycogen content compared to water plumped, wet scallops. Lower water content of the dry scallops makes searing them more efficient. We’re talking about Maillard browning here, which happens more quickly with lower moisture content. Risotto is a meal and a cooking method all in one.

Next time you are in the mood for a self-saucing rice dish, we hope you’ll take some of these tips from our three amazing chefs. [bell rings]