h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.h2g2.com/A442108

How to make the perfect Risotto (Italian rice dish).

I like the idea of this article, Dogster, although I think that you could throw in a few more facts, and possibly a couple of vegetarian options for recipes. Risotto is one of my 'survival' foods - you can make a little rice go a long way, and even leftover risotto, although less good than fresh, is extremely good for leftover food.

A couple of the 'facts' I suspect you should mention include a bit on the history of risotto - where it came from, who was responsible, etc. - as well as a bit more on the distinctive characteristics of the rice used, which is why risotto is risotto as opposed to, say, paella. I believe that the distinctive characteristic of arborio rice is that it absorbs about four times its weight in fluid while cooking, which means that, to make a good risotto, you need about five times as much stock as uncooked rice. 'Rules of thumb' for hungry hitchhikers never, ever go astray...!

All in all, a good article which probably needs just a tad more information to be a good guide entry, and I'd be recommending it on that basis....

I have a recipe for what to do with leftover risotto (it's from Elizabeth David's cookbook), but I don't know about whether or not I can stick this recipe in the entry or not? I've never made it myself. My intention in writing the article was to try and get across the technique of making it, which I found very difficult when learning to make risotto from recipe books, as they don't usually give enough detail. I don't really know a great deal about the history of risotto, etc. However, if you'd like to add a section on this, it would be good to include it. Also, the recipes I gave were all vegetarian (I suggested using chicken stock, but vege stock would do as well).

This looks like a very good recipe for risotto and has all the essential ingredients: special rice (I use Arborio), slowly adding the stock and lots of butter. I suggest you use 50/50 olive and butter to make it a bit more healthy. One problem with risotto is the disgusting grey colour of it. I add all sorts of vegetables, choosing them for colour rather than for taste, for example, sweet corn, red and green peppers.

You should add some white wine at the end with the last bit of butter, and since you've opened the bottle, you should finish it off with the meal.

An excellent entry. I recommend it to go in the edited guide.

Sorry, that should be 50/50 olive oil and butter.

I rather like the colour of risotto, it's more beige than grey though I think. I'll put in your suggestion for 50/50 oil/butter and adding some wine at the end. Thanks for the comments, I'll probably update the entry tomorrow.

Excellent work, Dogster - another successful recommendation to come out of the Peer Review process. Make the appropriate changes and await fame (although you can't yet anticipate fortune) as your entry ascends into the canon of the 'Edited Guide'...!

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.