Near The Banks Of The Mighty Po River – BASIC RISOTTO

Po River

Glad to be out of the madness of Genoa, we made the drive North to our next destination, Brusasco.

A small town about an hour outside of Torino near the banks of the mighty Po River. Our apartment for the week was actually in a small Borgo sitting at the top of a hill behind Brusasco, that consisted of a couple of groupings of old stone houses and a huge palace that has no permanent residents. It was very quiet and very peaceful with a gorgeous view looking out over the valley.

This part of the country

Driving in this part of the country is much more straight and flat, especially along the Po River valley. We soon found ourselves driving along endless fields of rice patties. Changing location in Italy usually means a change of regional produce and cuisine too and up here rice is the crop of choice.

Not just any old rice of course but the world famous and unique arborio rice, a short grain, starch packed, rice that is used most notably in making risotto (although it can be used in many dishes). Carnaroli Arborio is the best variety and it is agreed by most chefs to be the best to use to make a perfect risotto. In my experience I find it to make the most creamy risotto with the biggest window of doneness, meaning it doesn’t go from undercooked to overcooked instantly.
Porcini mushrooms and truffles (both black and white) abound here and the gorgeous town of Alba, only a short drive away, has become world famous for its trade in the world’s most expensive fungus. The black summer truffle was what was available when we were around but it is the white truffles, available in winter months (November, December), that pack the most intense wallop of funky truffle taste and sell for ridiculous amounts of money.

Truffle dealer

To prove the point, a truffle dealer we visited in Alba dropped a golf ball sized black truffle on the scale and it rang up to about €15, changing the setting to show us what the same truffle would cost if it was white, it showed it to sell for just over €150. Due to the hot and dry year, truffle prices were at an all-time high of around €3000 per kilo for the white and just under €300 for the black.
A good alternative is to try some truffle paste which is available in a less expensive blend of black and white and still provides that wonderful, intense truffle taste for dishes like risotto or to just spread on a piece of bread. Truffle salsa is also available but it is usually made up of mostly mushrooms and the majority of anything else that you find truffle flavoured, like salt, flour or honey is enhanced by synthetic truffle flavouring. My advice is to read the label and try all the samples to find the one you enjoy the most.

Risotto

Armed with a bag of beautiful local Carnaroli rice and our little jar of truffle heaven, dinner was shaping up and with the addition of a nice hunk of smokey bacon, we headed back to the kitchen to prepare what turned out to be one of the best risottos ever!
More than any other dish I have cooked over the years, risotto has been by far the one that most people want to know how to cook well. A simple dish it is really dependent on the ingredients you put into it, so don’t skimp! Use the best rice you can find, real Parmigiano Reggiano, strong stock and decent wine. If you do that and follow the steps below you will make a great risotto every time.
Change up the truffles and bacon for pumpkin purée or roasted garlic and you have a whole new dish, the basic recipe remains the same. The combo below is a mind blower though because bacon makes everything better and truffles make it mo’ better!

Start off with a good amount of olive oil in your pan over medium-high heat.
Add the diced bacon and cook it to render the fat and brown nicely on all sides.
Next, add your finely diced onion and sauté without browning it until it is translucent.
Add the chopped garlic and quickly sauté it before adding the rice to the pan.
Stirring constantly, sauté the rice for about three or four minutes until you see the rice start to look more opaque and clear. This is an important step to ensure the rice releases its starch slowly and gives you the creamiest risotto possible. The rice should never brown, so adjust your heat accordingly.
The next step is also very important to create a truly delicious risotto, the addition of the wine.

To the pan, add the wine, slowly, while stirring, and continue to cook everything until the rice becomes dry again.
It is the acidic flavour of the wine that will enhance the dish and really bring out the flavours.
Now you are ready to start adding the stock. Using warm stock will make the process go faster but I have used cold stock with great results too.
Add a couple of ladles full at a time and continue to cook and stir until the rice absorbs everything and starts to become dry, then add some more stock and repeat.
As you cook and add stock the rice will slowly release its starch and the risotto will start to become creamy.

Continue adding stock and stirring until, when you sample the rice, it has the tiniest little-uncooked part in the centre of the grain (20 to 25 minutes).
At that point you know it is almost done and you should add only enough stock to keep the risotto creamy and not let it dry out. Add the truffle paste to taste (more!).
Sample the rice again, if you’re on track the centre should just be cooked through with plump intact grains surrounded by a rich creamy sauce. If it’s slightly underdone that’s ok it will continue to cook, my advice is to taste often to check your progress. Once you understand the process and the appearance, you will be able to nail it every time. Remove from heat.
Now to really bring it over the top add a good whack of butter and the grated Parmigiano.
Stir everything one last time to bring it together, give it a few twists of pepper, taste for salt, and you should have the best risotto you have ever eaten. Always serve it in a warm bowl with more Parmigiano for sprinkling and a ribbon of olive oil over the top for good measure. A good risotto will be rich and creamy with the integrity of the grains still intact, never soupy, too dry or pasty.

In a restaurant

In a restaurant, we would cook the risotto 3/4 of the way through and then spread it out on a large sheet pan to stop the cooking.
You can then heat up the rice to order with some more stock and the flavouring of choice, finishing it the same way we did above.
It’s a great way to make risotto for a dinner party too. You’re a master now so here are a few of my favourite risotto combinations to try; crab, corn and bacon/ butternut squash and ginger or risotto Primavera with chopped spinach and all kinds of diced and blanched veggies.