Text 24817, 112 rader
Skriven 2012-05-14 10:53:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
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 -> Globe, and the NY Times), and they were presented with seven
 -> appetizers in succession, all on the house. And at Kinkead's
 -> in Washington he was given a bottle of Ch. Yquem for free.
 -> Some people just live right, I guess.
 HN> Or they live wrongly with great success!

There are moments when I wish I'd lived wrongly.

White truffle risotto
cat: rich, starch
Serves: 4

2 1/2 l good chicken stock
50 g butter
1 onion, chopped very, very finely
400 g superfino carnaroli rice
125 ml dry white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
h - for the mantecatura
75 g cold butter, cut into small dice
100 g parmesan, finely grated
1 white truffle
1 ts truffle butter

Some tips: chop the onions as finely as you can (the size
of grains of sea salt) - you don't want the onion to be
obvious in the finished risotto, and if you have large
pieces, they will not cook through properly. Grate the
parmesan finely so that it is quickly absorbed.

Make sure that your butter is very cold. Cut it into small
even-sized dice before you start cooking, and put it into
the fridge until you are ready to use it. That way it won't
melt too quickly and it will emulsify rather than split the
risotto. Remember, the more rice you cook, the greater the
heat it will retain, so it will take less time to cook.

To make the soffritto: put the stock into a pan, bring it
to the boil and then reduce the heat so that it is barely
simmering. Put a heavy-based pan on the heat next to the
one containing the hot stock, and put in the butter to
melt. The choice of pan for risotto is important, as a
heavy base will distribute heat evenly, preventing
burning. As the butter is melting, add the onion and cook
very slowly for 5 min, so that it softens and becomes
translucent, losing the pungent onion flavour, but
doesn't brown - otherwise it might add some burnt flavour
to the risotto and spoil its appearance with brown flecks.

I don't recommend that you add any salt at this point,
because the stock that you will shortly be adding will
reduce down, concentrating its flavour. You will also be
adding some salty parmesan at the end, so it is best to
wait until all these flavours have been absorbed and
decide at the end whether you need any seasoning or not.

For the tostatura ("toasting" the rice), turn up the heat
to medium, add the rice and stir, using a wooden spatula,
until the grains are well covered in butter and onions
and heated through - again with no colour. It is important
to get the grains up to a hot temperature before adding
the wine. Add the wine and let it reduce and evaporate,
continuing to stir until the wine has virtually disappeared
and the mixture is almost dry; that way you will lose any
taste of wine. From this point to the end of the cooking,
for this quantity of risotto it should take 17-18 min (a
minute or so less if you are doubling the quantity).
Start to add the stock a ladleful at a time (each addition
should be just enough to cover but not drown the rice),
stirring and scraping the base and sides of the pan with
your spatula. Let each ladleful of stock be almost
absorbed before adding the next one. The idea is to keep
the consistency runny at all times, never letting it dry
out, and to keep the rice moving so that it cooks evenly
(the base of the pan will obviously be the hottest place,
and the grains that are there will cook more quickly than
the rest, unless you keep stirring them around). You will
see the rice beginning to swell and become more shiny and
translucent as the outer layer gradually releases its
starch, beginning to bind the mixture together and make
it creamy. Keep the risotto bubbling steadily all the
while as you continue the process of adding stock,
stirring and letting it absorb, then adding more stock.

After about 15 min, start to test the rice. A word of
warning: let it cool before you taste or you will burn
your mouth!

The rice is ready when it is plump and tender, but the
centre of the grain still has a slight firmness to the bite.
When you feel you are almost there, reduce the amount of
stock you are adding, so that when the rice is ready the
consistency is not too runny, but nice and moist, ready to
absorb the butter and parmesan at the next stage and loosen
up some more.

Take the pan off the heat and let the risotto rest for a
minute without stirring. For the mantecatura, quickly beat
in the cold butter, truffle butter, then the parmesan. The
result should be a risotto that is creamy, rich and
emulsified. At this point, taste for seasoning and,
if you like, add a grind of salt and pepper, then shave
over the white truffle. Serve the risotto as quickly as
you can, as it will carry on cooking for a few minutes
even as you transfer it to your serving bowls (shallow
ones are best), and you want to enjoy it while it is at
its creamiest.

Giorgo Locatelli, Locanda Locatelli
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