Text 10301, 106 rader
Skriven 2007-01-09 13:32:23 av mark lewis (1:3634/12.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Ian Hoare (1:275/311.0)
Ärende: electrifying 635
========================
 IH>  on Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:26:30 -0500, you said:-

 IH> Sorry  about this, Mark, but I'm going to make a few corrections. A
 IH> risotto isn't a pilaff, it isn't a paella, it's not dirty rice,
 IH> it's entirely different in character, flavour and method.

no problem, ian... i fully appreciate comments and insight on most everything
cooking related ;)

>as far as i can tell, what makes risotto risotto is that one cooks it
>long and slow and keeps adding stock as needed... it is generally also 
>cooked in a frying pan instead of a sauce pan...

 IH> No. From the time you start adding liquid, to the time you serve
 IH> it, it takes 18 minutes +- 1 minute. It's not cooked in a frying
 IH> pan (that's paella) but ideally a LARGE wide bottomed shallow
 IH> saucepan. The size of the pan is important to the finished result,
 IH> and it should be big enough so that each addition of liquid has
 IH> been absorbed/evaporated pretty quickly. 

ahhh... maybe this is a semantics thing... i have three very large pans that we
call frying pans... they all have sloped sides so that one can flip the
contents without having to use a spatula or a spoon... they are at least 12
inches across their tops and the bottoms range from 8 inches to 10 inches... i
also have some that the bottoms and the sides are the same size and are in this
size range... but their sides are 4 inches or so tall whereas the others with
sloped sides are only 2 or 3...

i think of a sauce pan as something that i'd heat green beans or kernel corn
in... a quart or two in size... no more than 3 or 4... larger than that and
they are just a pot ;)

>i can't say that i've ever heard several of the TV cooks say anything about
>frying or browning the rice before adding the liquid...

 IH> Then they're not demonstrating a risotto (with apologies to them,
 IH> but TV chefs are notorious for dumbing down, fancying up and
 IH> generally b*ggering around with classic recipes and methods). 

i dunno... malto mario is pretty good and seems to make a lot of risotto
dishes...

 IH> I know of NO authentic recipe for risotto which doesn't start with
 IH> the "soffrito" - the frying of onion/garlic/shallot in butter/veg
 IH> oil (normally) not marge, or possibly olive oil, but the vast
 IH> majority of them are made with real butter, from cows. When you've
 IH> sweated the shallots/onions in butter/oil for a few minutes till
 IH> softened but not browned, THEN you add the rice (which is not your
 IH> "standard 30 mins rice" or Dales "25 minutes rice" or Uncle Ben's,
 IH> Auntie Leah's or any other vague cousin's abomination, but either
 IH> carnaroli, viala nero (sp) or Arborio). You stir it around for a
 IH> bit till the fat is absorbed and the rice becomes slightly
 IH> transparent. 

i'm with you up to here... pretty basic on what i do...

 IH> Then you tip in a glass of wine. (Ruth Haffly can leave out this 
 IH> stage, though the italian saying is "Rice is born in water, but 
 IH> dies in wine")

ahhh... i don't know that i've done any with wine... when i drink it, i drink
red rose' and my father is at the other end with a chablis blanc... the only
other wine would be something hammered together in a fermentation kit or some
wine vinegar...

 IH> You've got your stock simmering by now. When the wine is all 
 IH> absorbed/evaporated, you can start adding your liquid about 1/2 
 IH> cup at a time.

right there with you... i use my soup ladle and do one ladle full at a time...
i don't think i've ever really counted the minutes... i know that i don't
really watch the clock when cooking many dishes...   

>i don't think you could use uncle ben's... take normal 30 minute
>rice, as far as i can tell... it is what i do when i do it...

 IH> Aaarrgghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

hehehe...

>/me would use evoo, at least... depending on the taste i was after,
>i've been known to use bacon grease... mmmmmmmmmm...

 IH> Nope!!!!! Butter most times with a little oil to raise the cooking
 IH> temperature, NEVER bacon fat, (well - VERY rarely perhaps for a
 IH> particular risotto), and occasionally olive oil. 

the soffrito "stage" is where i use evoo and/or butter... yes, real butter...
margarine has too much water in it for me... sometimes, as mentioned before,
i'll use some bacon grease instead of butter but both with evoo... it depends
on the desired taste that i'm after...

 IH> Look, here's a REAL recipe for risotto. Make the effort of getting
 IH> ALL the ingredients, including proper stock, dried cepes/porcini
 IH> and arborio rice, and follow the recipe to the letter. Then come
 IH> back and tell us whether you agree that the results are entirely
 IH> different or not. A risotto should be at the same time with intact
 IH> grains and a creamy sauce. 

i've saved the recipe and look forward to trying it out... i think my biggest
"problem" has been the type of rice... many's the time that we just grab up
some mahatma's and go for it :)

)\/(ark

 * Origin:  (1:3634/12)