This creamy, luxurious dish, when made with good Italian risotto rice and homemade chicken stock, is food for the gods. Risotto can be as simple as rice, stock and parmesan or can be richly studded with seafood, vegetables or even bone marrow. The slow-cooking method results in a creamy texture with each grain separate and still firm to the bite. The liquid is added slowly and the rice is stirred constantly. It takes 20–25 minutes, but it is worth every minute.
Risotto should be made with arborio, carnaroli, vialone nano, roma or baldo rice, most of which are grown along the Po River Valley in Italy’s north and are available in many Italian delis or supermarkets. These rice varieties are able to absorb liquid and stand up to long, slow cooking without becoming soft and mushy.