How do I parboil risotto?

John N
  • Posted by: John N
  • December 19, 2011
  • 13805 views
  • 6 Comments

6 Comments

bigpan December 19, 2011
You can easily cook the risotto 90 percent to done, hold, then reheat with last ladle of stock, cheese and feature ingredient. True, it is best done all at once but the truth is most restaurants cannot afford to have one person assigned to make it from scratch while other dinner guests wait.
 
ChefJune December 19, 2011
I disagree that it will give you Risotto. There is no shortcut to a real Risotto. There are several different ways restaurants try to short-cut Risotto, but the truth is, none of them really work all that well. And if you're going to go to the trouble, why not just do it the right way?
 
Karen B. March 4, 2019
I teach culinary classes, with one of the classes using recipes from local restaurants. I have a recipe from an excellent local Italian restaurant, and their risotto is prepared by parboiling. The answer as to why, is to be able to serve it in a reasonable timeframe.
 
mtbrown619 December 19, 2011
Parboil it for 10 minutes and then let cool on a sheet tray, then finish it off with whatever liquid you're using. It's a total restaurant trick, but it should give you the results you're looking for in less time.
 
amysarah December 19, 2011
Many restaurants parboil - or rather, partially pre-cook - their risotto, so that it doesn't take so long to prepare when ordered. Is that what you mean?

I've never done it, but have seen it done - basically, it's just cooked as you'd normally do up to the last 5-10 minutes from being done, then spread on a sheet pan to cool in fridge, and covered. Then when ready to serve, it's re-heated to finish with the last ladles of stock (or whatever liquid) and final ingredients added - fresh herbs or quick cooking seafood or grated cheese or whatever your recipe calls for. Probably best when made from scratch to order, but a lot of good restaurants do this, so ...good trick in a time pinch.
 
ozbaker December 19, 2011
Are you referring to risotto rice or risotto the dish? If you mean the actual rice used in making risotto, arborio and others, then there is no reason to parboil it. Risotto rice is a short-grain rice that is meant to absorb water slowly to develop the creamy texture risotto (the dish) is known for. Can you be more specific with your question?
 
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