Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
SERVES 6
This more hands-off method requires precise timing, so we strongly recommend using a timer. Be aware that the thinner ends of the chicken breasts may be fully cooked by the time the broth is added to the rice, with the thicker ends finishing about 5 minutes later.
5 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | cups water |
1 | tablespoon olive oil |
2 | (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half crosswise |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1 | large onion, chopped fine |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | garlic clove, minced |
2 | cups Arborio rice |
1 | cup dry white wine |
2 | ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup) |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh parsley |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh chives |
1 | teaspoon lemon juice |
1.
Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain gentle simmer.
2.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook second side until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to saucepan of simmering broth and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to large plate.
3.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and ³⁄
4
teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.
4.
Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups hot broth mixture into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.
5.
Add ³⁄
4
cup hot broth mixture to risotto and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
6.
Meanwhile, remove and discard skin and bones from chicken and shred meat into bite-size pieces. Gently stir shredded chicken, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, parsley, chives, and lemon juice into risotto. To loosen texture of risotto, add remaining broth mixture to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
The stubby, milky grains of Arborio rice, once grown exclusively in Italy, are valued for their high starch content and the subsequent creaminess they bring to risotto, but can a different type of rice be used to make risotto?
Varieties of rice are roughly grouped as long grain, medium grain, or short grain according to their cooked length and width. Long-grain rice is about four times as long as it is wide, medium grain is twice as long, and short grain is almost round. The manner in which they cook is largely defined by the ratio of two starches that (in part) constitute rice: amylose and amylopectin. The former does not break down (gelatinize) when heated; the latter does. Rice with a high percentage of amylose, then, is long, firm, and discrete when cooked; rice with a lower percentage (and thus more amylopectin) is shorter and starchy, or “sticky.” For comparison’s sake, long-grain rice contains between 23 and 26 percent amylose, and medium-grain rice contains between 18 and 26 percent amylose. Arborio rice, the classic choice for risotto, contains roughly 19 to 21 percent amylose. However, that is not the only difference. The desirable “bite” in risotto is due to a defect in Arborio rice called chalk. During maturation, the starch structures at the grain’s core deform, making for a firm, toothy center when cooked.
What if you can’t find Arborio rice? To see how other rices stacked up, we made our Parmesan risotto with four types of rice: standard long grain, converted parcooked long grain, regular medium grain, and short grain (sushi-style rice). The two long-grain varieties bombed, turning mushy and lacking the creaminess essential to risotto. The parboiled rice also had the jarring, unmistakable flavor of precooked rice. Medium- and short-grain rice fared much better, earning passing grades from most tasters, who agreed that these batches possessed all the creaminess of risotto made with Arborio, though not its al dente bite.
So the long and short of it? If you’re in a pinch and can’t find Arborio, look for medium- or short-grain rice for an acceptable—but not perfect—batch of risotto. But for the best risotto, choose Arborio rice.
SERVES 6
This more hands-off method requires precise timing, so we strongly recommend using a timer.
5 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | cups water |
1 | tablespoon olive oil |
2 | (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half crosswise |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1 | leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, chopped fine, and washed thoroughly |
Salt and pepper | |
3 | large garlic cloves, minced |
2 | cups Arborio rice |
1 | cup dry white wine |
10 | ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry |
2 | ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup) |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh parsley |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh chives |
1 | teaspoon lemon juice |
1.
Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain gentle simmer.
2.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook second side until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to saucepan of simmering broth and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to large plate.
3.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek and ³⁄
4
teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until leek is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.
4.
Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups hot broth mixture into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.
5.
Add ³⁄
4
cup hot broth mixture to risotto and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and Parmesan. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
6.
Meanwhile, remove and discard skin and bones from chicken and shred meat into bite-size pieces. Gently stir shredded chicken, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, parsley, chives, and lemon juice into risotto. To loosen texture of risotto, add remaining broth mixture to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
SERVES 6
This more hands-off method requires precise timing, so we strongly recommend using a timer.
5 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | cups water |
1 | tablespoon olive oil |
2 | (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half crosswise |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1 | large onion, chopped fine |
1 | fennel bulb, fronds minced, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and chopped fine |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | garlic clove, minced |
2 | cups Arborio rice |
1 | cup dry white wine |
2 | ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup) |
¹⁄ | cup chopped green olives |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh parsley |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh chives |
1 | teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon juice |
1.
Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain gentle simmer.
2.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook second side until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to saucepan of simmering broth and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to large plate.
3.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in now-empty Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add onion, fennel, and ³⁄
4
teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.
4.
Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups hot broth mixture into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.
5.
Add ³⁄
4
cup hot broth mixture to risotto and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and olives. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
6.
Meanwhile, remove and discard skin and bones from chicken and shred meat into bite-size pieces. Gently stir shredded chicken, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, parsley, chives, lemon zest and juice, and 2 tablespoons fennel fronds into risotto. To loosen texture of risotto, add remaining broth mixture to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
SERVES 6 AS A SIDE DISH
This more hands-off method requires precise timing, so we strongly recommend using a timer.
5 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | cups water |
1 | tablespoon olive oil |
2 | (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half crosswise |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1 | large onion, chopped fine |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | large garlic clove, minced |
2 | cups Arborio rice |
1 | cup dry white wine |
¹⁄ | teaspoon saffron threads |
2 | ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup) |
³⁄ | cup frozen peas |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh parsley |
2 | tablespoons chopped fresh chives |
1 | teaspoon lemon juice |
1.
Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain gentle simmer.
2.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook second side until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to saucepan of simmering broth and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to large plate.
3.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and ³⁄
4
teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains are translucent around edges, about 3 minutes.
4.
Add wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir 5 cups hot broth mixture and saffron into rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, 16 to 18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.
5.
Add ³⁄
4
cup hot broth mixture to risotto and stir gently and constantly until risotto becomes creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and peas. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
6.
Meanwhile, remove and discard skin and bones from chicken and shred meat into bite-size pieces. Gently stir shredded chicken, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, parsley, chives, and lemon juice into risotto. To loosen texture of risotto, add remaining broth mixture to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.