Risotto

We’re crazy for risotto in Lombardy and, although it’s now made all over Italy, the best risotto rice grows in our Po Valley, and risotto is treated with great reverence in the Lombardian kitchen. We believe when risotto is plated, no grain of rice should be on top of another otherwise it will overcook from the residual heat – the risotto should lie flat on the plate so that all the grains cool equally. To achieve this, the finished risotto must be quite wet: ‘wave-like, or all’onda in Italian. It is always served on a flat plate and we tap the bottom of the plate firmly to smooth the risotto out. Different regions make risotto in different styles, for example in neighbouring Piedmont they mound it up on the plate. We call this style of dish risi, not risotto (see the Chicken Rice and Rice with Pork Sausage).