Before I get to the recipe for my Roasted Corn Risotto, I thought I should start by explaining how to make a basic risotto.  Risotto is not necessarily a complicated dish as long as you understand each step. First, you start by sauteing some onion in butter. Then, once the onion is translucent, add some short grain rice and cook it until the edges of the individual grains are translucent. The next step is adding a small amount of white wine and letting it be absorbed by the rice. Once the wine is nearly gone, start adding chicken stock (or broth) in small amounts until the risotto is fully cooked. A couple notes about this:

1. The quality of the stock or broth will impact the risotto. The grains will be absorbing a bunch of the liquid, and the final flavor will reflect this. Homemade stock is ideal but impractical for most situations, so I use a boxed, not canned, broth such as Pacific Free Range Low Sodium Chicken Broth.
2. The best way to tell if the risotto is done is by tasting it. The grains should be soft when you bite into them. Also, tasting is important for adjusting the seasoning. The type of broth you use will affect the amount of salt you need to add. Low sodium broth is best because it gives you control over how much salt is in the risotto. If you’re unsure about whether the risotto needs salt, scoop some out of the pot and taste a little bit of it. Then, add a little bit of salt and taste again. Better? Too salty? Checking the seasoning in this way will help you make a better risotto and improve your overall cooking skills.
3. The proper way to add stock to risotto is by warming it in a second pot before adding it. This apparently affects the overall quality, but I haven’t noticed a huge difference from using room temperature stock. I think most cooks would completely disagree, but at least I have Judy Rogers on my side.
4. Another important step is to constantly be stirring the risotto while the broth is being absorbed. In On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee points out that the constant stirring helps break down the starch on the outside of each grain and release it into the risotto. So, try to stir constantly, and if you need to work on other parts of dinner, enlist someone you’re cooking for to stir.
5. To make what I called a “compound risotto,” add the extra ingredient just before adding the last bit of stock needed to finish cooking the risotto. The extra ingredient can be a number of things such as sauted mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, saffron, or roasted corn.

Now that the risotto is cooked and properly seasoned, take it off the heat and stir butter and Parmesan. Once you understand how to make a basic risotto, it becomes a great foundation for making more complex dishes.

Basic Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 cup short grain rice such as arborio
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth (ie, one 32 oz box)
• 1 onion, diced
• salt, to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons white wine
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Preheat a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add two tablespoons butter. Once the butter has melted and the foam subsided, add the diced onions. Stir frequently until the onions are cooked through (ie, translucent) and fragrant, about 3 minutes.



2. Add the arborio rice, stir frequently, and cook until the edges of the individual grains have become translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, stir occasionally until almost all of the wine has been absorbed or evaporated.



3. Add about a cup of the chicken stock. Occasionally (or frequently depending on how occupied you are) stir the rice. Once the first cup of stock is almost completely gone, add an additional half cup. The best way to gauge the amount of stock needed is by scraping a path with the spoon. When you make this trail, you should be able to see the bottom of the pan and the liquid shouldn’t immediately cover it up. Continue stirring, monitoring how much stock is left in the pot. Keep adding stock until the rice is cooked through. This should take about 20 minutes, and also use up just about all of the 4 cups of stock. Remember to taste to check for doneness and seasoning. The grains should be plump and stick together in groups of 3 or 4.



4. Once the rice is done cooking, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and remaining tablespoon of butter. Taste one last time to adjust the seasoning before serving.