Risotto all'Onda — The Venetian Risotto Standard

Ingredients

• 320 g Carnaroli rice, or Vialone Nano
• 1.5 litres good meat, chicken or vegetable stock, kept at a bare simmer throughout
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 60 g unsalted butter, for the soffritto
• For the mantecatura
• 80 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes — cold is essential
• 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

Method

1. 1
   Set the stock over a low flame and hold it at a bare simmer throughout. Place a wide, heavy-based pan over a low heat. Melt the soffritto butter and add the onion. Cook slowly, without allowing the onion to colour, until it is soft, translucent and sweet-smelling — this takes patience and moderate heat. The smell should be gentle, of butter and sweet onion, with no sharpness.
2. 2
   Raise the heat to medium. Add the rice and stir it through the soffritto so that every grain is coated in butter. Toast the rice for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly. The grains will turn slightly opaque and give off a faint, dry, nutty aroma. That aroma is the signal to proceed.
3. 3
   Add the hot stock one ladle at a time, stirring steadily after each addition to release the starch from the rice. Wait until each ladle is absorbed before adding the next. The surface of the rice should close slowly after the spoon passes — a sign the starch is releasing correctly. Continue for approximately 16–18 minutes, tasting the grain as the end approaches. The rice is ready for the mantecatura when it is tender at the outside with a small, firm core remaining, and the mass moves in a slow, loose body behind the spoon.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Remove the pan from the heat while the rice is still slightly loose — it will tighten further as it rests. Add the final ladle of hot stock, then add all the cold butter cubes and the freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano at once. Beat the mass vigorously with a wooden spoon, or shake the pan in rapid, repeated forward thrusts, for 1–2 minutes without pause. The risotto will transform: the cold butter emulsifies into the hot starch and the mass turns glossy, fluid and flowing. The spoon should feel the mass thicken and become heavy and smooth as the emulsion forms. If the consistency is not yet flowing, add a little more hot stock and beat again.
5. 5
   Cover the pan and rest the risotto off the heat for 1–2 minutes. Then serve immediately onto warmed plates. Tilt the plate: the risotto should spread and form a slow, gentle wave at the rim. If it holds in a mound, the dish is already past its moment.