Freeform Risotto

Every time I make risotto I have to look up the proportions of liquid to rice, and different recipes give different proportions, and some work and some don't and I can never remember which, but I think I've finally got it nailed down, and here is the result of my researches:

5: 1.5
The ratio of liquid to rice in risotto is 5:1.5.
5 cups liquid to 1.5 cups arborio ("Italian-style") rice.

Here are the other rules of making risotto:

• Risotto needs something acid in the liquids to be interesting. Usually the acid is 1/2-1 c. wine, but you can use the juice and grated rind of 1 lemon instead, put in just at the end. (Or use bottled lemon juice, but it really isn't anywhere near as good, not that that stops me when I'm in a hurry.) If you do use lemon juice, don't waste your wine on it too, since it will be overwhelmed.
• It's always tempting to put chicken or something in, but in fact meat seems to muddy the flavour. Stick to vegetables. With the rice and cheese it's a complete protein anyway.
• Throw in 1/2 c. parmesan and a bunch of fresh chopped parsley right before you serve it, and mix it in. The parsley brightens the flavour.
• The better the broth, the better the risotto. Home-made stock, if you're good at it, is probably best, but I'm not good at stock so I use one of the "Pacific Organic" broths - vegetable or chicken usually. Mushroom broth seems to muddy the flavour (again).
• Also, the better the cheese, the better the risotto. Fresh-grated Parmesan is much better than the pre-grated stuff. But I usually use pre-grated because it's easier.
• The important thing is to add the liquid a little at a time and cook on a LOW HEAT. If you cook on too high a heat the liquid evaporates too fast, before the rice has had a chance to cook, and you'll run out of broth and still have crunchy and inedible rice, which is frustrating, believe me, especially when everyone's been waiting for dinner for half an hour already.
• Also, remember to stir it frequently (ideally you're stirring the whole time, but if you're also running around setting the table and trying to keep the children from destroying the living room or falling down the porch stairs and realising that you forgot to chop the mushrooms, I mean, let's be realistic here ...) - especially keep stirring towards the end when it's more likely to scorch.
• If you really want to know how to make risotto don't trust me, go find the cookbook "Patricia Wells' Trattoria", which has many excellent risotto recipes and which taught me everything I know, and a great deal that I keep forgetting, about risotto.

There's a great deal of variation in risotto ingredients; it's good for getting rid of mildly elderly vegetables. Though fresh ones are better. Broccoli seems to work well; zucchini; mushrooms; I expect peppers would be good, perhaps spinach, celery, tomatoes?, fennel, almost anything really ... on the other hand I wouldn't try carrots, cabbage, turnip, or squash. Perhaps I'm just not adventurous enough.

The basic risotto recipe is:

• 1.5 cups arborio ("Italian") rice
• 4 cups veg. or chicken broth
• 1 c. wine or wine mixed with water (red or white, it won't affect the flavour, but the colour of the finished product will be better if you use white)
• around 1-2 tbsp butter + olive oil
• 2-3 c. fresh chopped vegetables
• fresh basil, if you've got any
• fresh parsley
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• More Parmesan to sprinkle on top

Heat the oil+ butter until the butter is melted. Fry the chopped vegetables in the oil. When they're soft, add the basil, throw in the rice, and mix it around until it's coated with oil. Mix the broth and wine together, and begin pouring it in, 1/2 c. at a time, and mix it around at a LOW HEAT until the liquid comes to a boil and is absorbed. Keep doing this until you run out of fluids. When you pour in the last batch of broth + wine, add in the 1/2 c. of Parmesan and the fresh parsley, and stir in. Serve right away, with more Parmesan to sprinkle on top.

N.B. One problem with this approach is that the vegetables do get a little mushy. I've thought about stir-frying them in a separate pan and adding them at the end, to keep them crunchier. But that would get another pan dirty. If anyone tries this, let me know how it comes out.