Risotto (Basic)

Sweat the onion very gently over medium heat in some butter or olive oil, without letting it brown. This is known as a soffritto in Italy.

Add the rice and cook until it has a transparent look (this shouldn't take long). Add some salt and pepper.

Add the wine. A hot pan will cause the alcohol to evaporate more quickly (and create a nice dramatic effect), but make sure you don't burn the rice or the soffritto.

As the wine cooks away you will see the remaining liquid getting thicker as it's absorbing the starch from the rice. When it's more or less gone, add some stock. Do not add too much stock. The rice should never be submerged in stock. Keep stirring it and keep adding more stock as it cooks away. This should take about 15–20 minutes.

Taste to see if the rice is done. The rice should be soft, but have enough bite to it to feel the individual grains of rice. The choice between a liquid risotto or a firmer one is a matter of personal preference. When put on a plate, it should spread out slowly. If it sits still, it needs some more stock; if there's liquid coming from the risotto, it needs to cook down a bit more.

Let it rest for about a minute once ready.

Vigorously stir in the butter in small chunks at the time, tasting to get the amount of butter right. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. This phase is called the mantecatura.

Serve immediately.