This Overnight Risotto Saves Me Time on Busy Weeknights.
There’s a reason leftover risotto doesn’t really matter: it gets gooey and breaks if you try to reheat it. It is normal practice to cook risotto fresh , stirring constantly and pouring small amounts of liquid into the pan for 30 minutes until it is perfect. I wouldn’t blame you if that’s why you never make risotto at home; what a job. But there is actually a less tedious way to make this creamy rice dish. This is an overnight risotto and my favorite way to make it.
A perfectly cooked risotto is a thing of beauty: tender individual grains of rice loosely entwined with a creamy, savory house-made sauce. There’s a short window of time before this velvety dish becomes thick and sticky, and there’s a limit to reheating it with plenty of liquid. If you overdo it, whether on the stove with too much broth or leftovers in the microwave, the starch capsules in the rice will break down and they will burst. You’ll see it in the form of gritty, crushed grains of rice (a good risotto will show the whole grain) and spoonfuls of risotto that are more like stiff mashed potatoes than rice in a pourable gravy.
This is not surprising; many starchy ingredients will act in the same way. Mashed potatoes may become sticky if stirred with a knife ; oats can be overcooked; and the mac and cheese will become too soft and fall apart if you overcook it. But there’s a surprisingly effective trick I remembered from Ina Garten’s Go-To Dinners cookbook, which I reviewed a few months ago to make overnight mac and cheese for her.
She only partially cooks the pasta so it is still hard in the middle. She leaves it in a liquid state overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, simply top it with more cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in the oven. The pasta absorbs liquid gently when refrigerated; it finishes cooking in the oven, and the crumbly starches combine with grated cheese and cream to create a delicious sauce without the need for dressing. This is truly stellar mac and cheese, designed to lighten your workload.
Overnight risotto uses the same idea: only partially cook the rice so the starch doesn’t reach the full capacity, and cook it in a pan for about three minutes the next day. It’s absolutely perfect and much faster than the traditional way. Perhaps, starting today, you will cook risotto more often. Here’s how to do it.
Overnight risotto recipe
Ingredients:
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1 shallot, chopped
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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Pinch of salt
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½ cup dry arborio rice
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¼ glass dry white wine
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2–2 ½ cups broth (divided)
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¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
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¼ cup frozen peas
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1 tablespoon butter
1. Add olive oil, minced shallots and salt to a large skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are translucent.
2. Add rice and stir for about a minute. Pour in the wine and stir until absorbed, about 30 seconds. Add one and a half cups of broth to the pan and let the rice completely absorb it, you can stir once or twice. Once it’s absorbed, taste the grain. It should have a soft ring on the outside and a hard, chalky ring on the inside. Remove rice from heat. This process should only take 10 minutes.
3. Immediately pour the rice mixture onto a plate or wide bowl and spread it out to cool for 10 minutes or so. Place the rice in a storage container and add half a cup of the remaining broth. (It is not necessary to add the liquid at this stage. Instead, you can simply add the liquid when you are ready to cook it tomorrow, but then it may take a couple of extra minutes.) Cover and place in the oven. refrigerator overnight.
4. When you are ready for the risotto, pour the cold, steamed rice and liquid into a large skillet. A little broth will be absorbed, but not all. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Once it starts to bubble vigorously, add the cheese, peas (or other tender vegetables) and butter. (An additional 1/2 cup of broth is included in the ingredients list if you like your sauce thinner.) Stir until the liquid is absorbed but the sauce is still slightly runny. This takes about three minutes. Serve immediately.