Cooking rice can lead to various mishaps, but when it’s the focal point of a dish, there’s nowhere to hide mistakes. Risotto is a classic comfort food Italian dish that can often be left stodgy if it’s not cooked to perfection.
If you’re worried about the texture of a risotto, the food experts at Delish suggested adding a simple ingredient that would terrify Italian nonnas. In a recent TikTok video, Delish wrote in the caption: “What Nonna doesn’t know won’t hurt her. One sneaky ingredient. Game-changing risotto.”
When preparing the risotto, Francesca said that you’d “get killed” if you were in Italy for adding this ingredient. However, the food editor stands by using whipped double cream as the perfect addition for the creamiest risotto,
Francesca said: “Thomas Keller and Kenji Lopez swear by folding whipped heavy cream into their risotto.”
Francesca whipped half a cup (approximately 120ml) of double cream until reaching stiff peaks. Follow by folding in the whipped cream into the risotto right at the end.
She continued: “Because I folded air from the whipped cream into the risotto as it deflated, I’m wondering if it’s gonna be like a foamy creamy or if it’s gonna be like a dense creamy.
“It’s lush, it’s light. I would expect heavy cream added to risotto that’s already pretty rich to make it even more rich.
“It’s actually kind of light and fluffy. That’s very good.”
Delish explained that around half a cup of whipped double cream should be added for every cup of risotto rice. The food experts explained that adding cream can dilute the flavour of the dish, so you will need to taste and reseason before serving.
Delish wrote: “Really, the science behind this hack is quite simple. When you whip heavy cream into whipped cream, you introduce a significant amount of air to the mixture, which creates that classic, light, fluffy texture. So when you gently fold the whipped cream into the risotto, it loosens the risotto and introduces all of those air bubbles, resulting in an airier mixture.
“While it may seem like adding heavy cream to an already rich dish is a recipe for an overly rich dish, in actuality, the result is a more lush, light risotto that’s a fun upgrade to your Nonna’s classic recipe.”
A viewer even suggested in the video’s comments section: “I like crème fraiche in risotto.”
Dining and Cooking