Weird science: Risotto

I have wanted to learn to make risotto since I first found out that it doesn't have any cream in it. A creamy-tasting food with no cream--amazing! Actually making it made me even more impressed with the bizarreness that is risotto. How did anyone ever figure out that instead of boiling rice in liquid, you could cook it and then add liquid later, and that it would turn out totally different and awesome?

I compared a bunch of recipes and ended up using the one for Parmesan Risotto from the New Best Recipe cookbook. Generally I find that cookbook is way too complicated, but since I was in awe of this foodstuff, I wanted lots of detail so I'd make sure I did it right. Here's the recipe:

3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced fine
salt
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 onces Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (1 cup)
Ground black pepper

You bring the broth and water to simmer in one pot and then turn down the heat to just keep it warm. Then separately you cook the onion in butter for ~10 minutes, until the onions are soft and see-through.

Next, in the step that seems very counterintuitive, you add the rice to the onions and cook it for about 4 minutes ("until the edges of the grains are transparent," according to the cookbook, but I could not discern that change.) At this step you could sort of start to tell that the starchiness of the rice was making it all goopy, which I guess is what leads to the mysterious creaminess.

After that you start adding liquids: first the wine, cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently, then 3 cups of the water/broth mixture. This turns the whole operation into a soupy mess. But after you cook it for about 10 minutes, stirring infrequently, the rice absorbs the liquid. You then keep adding the broth mixture 1/2 cup at a time, and stirring every 3-4 minutes so it doesn't stick to the bottom, until it tastes done.


Lastly you add in the cheese, salt, and pepper, and eat! Pardon the blurriness of my plate picture and the big pork chop in front (Mr. Jenny made that part of the meal, which was also quite good). I was very happy with my risotto--it was a whole lotta creamy deliciousness. I will definitely make it again, and maybe experiment with adding other stuff, like mushrooms and saffron. Mmm, science.