Italian
Learning Intentions:
- Learn how to make a traditional risotto.
- Learn how to use a soffritto to enhance flavour. - Understand there are many different types of rice. Success Criteria:- I can create create a risottto from scratch.
- I can make a soffritto using onion, celery carrot and garlic.. - Choose the correct type of rice for a risotto. Green Pea and Lemon RisottoIngredients
500 ml stock 15 g butter ½ leek, finely sliced ½ carrot, finely chopped 1 stick of celery, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed 200 g risotto rice 100 g frozen peas sea salt freshly ground black pepper Lemon zest 50 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated Method Heat the stock in a saucepan. In a separate pan, heat the butter, then add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and thyme and fry for about 8 minutes until the soffritto is soft but not coloured. Add the rice and turn up the heat so it almost fries. After a minute the rice will look slightly translucent (clear). Now add a ladle of hot stock and a pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a fairly high simmer. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring constantly and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed completely before adding the next. Chuck the peas into the stock when there are a couple of ladlefuls left, and add them with the stock. Stir until the rice is soft but still has a slight bite, then season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in half the parmesan and the lemon zest. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top and eat as soon as possible while it retains its lovely moist texture. |
Italian soffrittoThe Italian version of mirepoix is called soffritto (not to be confused with the Spanish sofrito). An Italian soffritto is made with olive oil, especially in Southern Italy, rather than butter, as in France or in Northern Italy, and may also contain garlic, shallot, leek, and herbs. From Tuscany in central Italy, restaurateur Benedetta Vitali writes that soffritto means "underfried", describing it as: "a preparation of lightly browned minced vegetables, not a dish by itself."
It is the foundation on which many Tuscan sauces, and otherdishes are built.According to Vitali, mastery of the soffritto is the key to an understanding of Tuscan cooking. Her classically restrained Tuscan soffritto is garlic-less and simply calls for a red onion, a carrot, and a stalk of celery—all finely minced by hand and slowly and carefully sauteed in virgin olive oil in a heavy pan until the mixture reaches a state of browning appropriate to its intended use. RISOTTORisotto is a north Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetable stock. Many types of risotto contain butter, wine and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. There are many different risotto recipes with different ingredients, but they are all based on rice of an appropriate variety cooked in a standard procedure.
The rice is first cooked briefly in a soffritto and butter or olive oil to coat each grain in a film of fat. White or red wine is added and has to be absorbed by the grains. When it has evaporated, the heat is raised to medium high and very hot stock is gradually added in small amounts while stirring gently, almost constantly: stirring loosens the starch molecules from the outside of the rice grains into the surrounding liquid, creating a smooth creamy-textured liquid. Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite: al dente, and with separate grains. The traditional texture is fairly fluid. It is served on flat dishes and it should easily spread out but not have excess watery liquid around the perimeter. It must be eaten at once as it continues to cook in its own heat and can become too dry with the grains too soft. Varieties o f RiceRice is classified by the size of its grain long, medium and short and varieties range in texture from fluffy to creamy to sticky. Colour varies from brown to white to red.
The shape, size, texture and other characteristics of the different varieties affect the way the rice is used in recipes what types of dish it is suitable for and the way it is cooked. Each country favours particular varieties for its cuisine. Basmati Rice With very long, slim grains, basmati is often called the king of rices, as it has excellent cooking qualities and a full flavour. It is grown only in northern India and Pakistan, and no other rice can be labelled as basmati. It also comes in a wholegrain form, which tends to be lighter and quicker to cook than other brown rices. Chinese Black Rice: An unrefined rice, this has a brownish-black skin and flattish, wide grains. It is usually soaked and then steamed. In Asia it is also used to make a dessert with coconut milk and palm sugar. Glutinous Rice: Sometimes referred to as Chinese rice or sticky rice, this is widely used in South-east Asia for both sweet and savoury dishes. Its grains are almost round and chalky-white. Ironically, the name is misleading as, like all other rices, it contains no gluten. The normal cooking method is to soak and then steam it, after which the grains stick together as if with glue. This means it can be eaten in small balls picked up with the fingers or chopsticks. Japanese Sushi Rice: A short-grain rice, this is usually soaked and then cooked by the absorption method. Once cooled, it is flavoured with sweetened rice vinegar and rolled up in nori seaweed with other ingredients such as raw fish or vegetables to make sushi. It is the stickiness of the rice which holds the sushi rolls together. Paella Rice: From the Spanish region of Valencia, this is used in the traditional dish of Spain, paella. It is a plump, short-grain rice similar to risotto rice, but with a less creamy texture. Pudding Rice: This short-grain rice is very similar to risotto rice, but with sweeter-tasting grains. It needs long, slow cooking and produces a silky, creamy texture, which is why it is used to make rice puddings. It should not be used for savoury dishes, even risottos, as the taste will be disappointing. Risotto Rice: The famous medium-grain rice of Italy, this has plump, white, oval grains. When cooked with liquid stirred in slowly, the grains retain their individual shape yet become creamy. Arborio is the best-known of the risotto rices, but of even better quality are Carnaroli and Vialone Nano. |