Risotto

THE BASIC METHOD. To make risotto, medium-grain white rice (see varieties below) is added—raw and unwashed—to a flavor base of onion sautéed in butter or, much less frequently, in olive oil with or without garlic. After it is tossed and well coated with butter—or oil—it is cooked in the same uncovered pot by the gradual administration of small quantities of liquid. The rice must be stirred constantly so that it does not stew in the liquid and become mushy. What liquid it cannot absorb quickly must evaporate. When the grains are done to a firm, but not chalky, consistency, they must cling to each other as well as to any other ingredient that was incorporated into the risotto. There are no shortcuts or alternative procedures that achieve this result. Rice cooked by any other method, however good it may be, is not risotto nor should it be so described.