While we’re on the topic of risotto….
Risotto is one of those exceedingly flexible dishes. Now, I haven’t read Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
The basics are simple, the adaptations are infinite. Let me rewrite the ingredient list a little differently:
3/4 cup arborio rice
½ cup aromatics
1/4 cup alcohol
3 cups liquid
1/3 cup grated or crumbled cheese
4 tbs. whole butter
garnish
lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
Depending on the “garnish” you put in your rice, whether it’s shrimp, mushrooms or duck confit, you can adapt the other ingredients to fit. For example, the aromatics can be onions, shallots, garlic or any combination. The alcohol could be cognac (for shrimp), sherry (for mushrooms) or red wine for beets. The cheese could be Parmesan, goat or smoked Gouda. And for the liquid – any combination of water, chicken, lobster of vegetable stock. Heck, you could use apple juice if you wanted…. Though I wouldn’t recommend it.
Here are some ideas:
Mushroom risotto is one of my all-time favorite main course dishes; I serve it with a green salad and an acidic dressing, to balance the richness of the risotto. The method is everything; once you get the method, the recipe can go in any direction. Thanks for the chart — very helpful!
I want to do mine as a main course with sausage. And perhaps leeks and peas. Of course, this is just a takeoff of my favorite pasta recipe. 🙂 But I bet it would be great for risotto.And thank you for your ratio for risotto. I bet that would be in his book, eh?