Do you love cooking and eating risotto? If so, you may be tempted to prepare a large batch of this dish and store it up in the freezer. Well, that is understandable. After all, this dish is quite laborious to prepare plus stocking up on risotto means you will have access to it anytime you want!
While this may seem logical, many people claim that freezing and heating risotto will change its texture, making it less delicious. Is that true? Does this mean that there’s no chance that you can stock risotto in your fridge?
Well, that’s completely not true! There are actually plenty of ways on how to reheat risotto without changing its texture. In fact, here are some of them:
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What You Need
- Refrigerated Risotto.
- Wine / Broth stock / Water.
- Butter.
The Step-by-Step Guide on How to Reheat Risotto
As mentioned above, there are four ways on how to reheat risotto. Here they are:
Technique #1: Reheating Risotto in the Microwave
Choosing this method gives you the biggest risk of ending up with a dry heated risotto. However, this option is the most convenient, so this is perfect for busy people.
Step 1. Prepare the risotto.
Remove the risotto from the refrigerator and place it in a bowl. Add wine or broth stock to it.
Step 2. Microwave the risotto.
After adding wine or stock, place the bowl of risotto inside the microwave. Set the oven to medium high temperature and heat for 4 minutes. Check and stir the risotto from time to time.
Step 3. Check the risotto.
Check the risotto after 4 minutes. If it is hot enough for you, add extra butter, mix and serve. If you think it needs more heating, microwave it again for 1 minute.
Technique #2: Reheating Risotto on the Stove
Step 1. Get the risotto from the refrigerator.
Place the chilled refrigerator in a sauce pan. Add water / wine / broth stock. You can also add butter if you want.
Pro Tip:
Make sure to use a pan that is large enough to accommodate your risotto and still have space for the liquids you will add.Step 2. Reheat the risotto.
Place the saucepan with the risotto over medium heat. Wait for the mixture to boil, stirring it consistently. There’s no predetermined amount of time on how long you will cook it. When you think that the risotto is already all heated up, you can remove the pan from heat.
Pro Tip:
- While using high heat can speed things up, it can also increase the risk of burning so use low temperature instead.
- Stirring the risotto consistently will allow the ingredients to blend better. It also facilitates even distribution of heat.
Step 3. Serve.
After removing the pan from heat, transfer risotto to a serving platter. Serve and enjoy!
Technique #3: Reheating Risotto in the Oven
This reheating method is recommended for people who wish to make a new dish out of their risotto. In this tutorial, I will be sharing with you the procedure on how to turn your refrigerated risotto into fried rice balls. This simple recipe is perfect for your little ones!
Step 1. Prepare the risotto.
Take the refrigerated risotto out of the fridge. Let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. Add grated cheese to your risotto and mix well. Using your palm, roll the rice into small balls. Prepare two bowls. Place flour on one and beaten egg in another. Place bread crumbs on a plate.
Roll the balls in the bowl with flour. Dip them into the bowl with beaten egg. Coat with breadcrumbs afterwards.
Step 2. Cook the risotto balls.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the balls in a baking pan lined with baking sheet. Spray the balls with olive oil. Bake until golden. It will take about 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Technique #4: Reheating Risotto in the Steamer Basket
Step 1. Get your risotto from the fridge.
Take out the risotto from the refrigerator and let it warm for a few minutes.
Step 2. Prepare your cooking equipment.
Insert the steamer basket or colander (if you will use one) in your pot carefully. If you chose to use either a bowl or plate, roll aluminum foil into three or four balls of the same size. Arrange the aluminum balls on the different corners of the pot.
Place your plate or bowl on top. Make sure that the plate or bowl is perfectly balanced on top of the balls.
Step 3. Add water to the pot.
There’s no predetermined amount of water that you should put into the pot. However, you have to make sure that the water will not reach the basket, colander, plate or bowl even as it boils.
Step 4. Add the risotto.
Place the risotto in a bowl. Place the bowl with the risotto inside the steamer or colander. You can also place it on top of the plate. If you are using a bowl already, just place the risotto in the bowl.
Pro Tip:
Never place the risotto directly in the colander or steamer basket as it will slide through the holes when you do so.Step 5. Reheat the risotto.
Afterwards, cover the pot. Place the pot over low heat and let the water boil and the steam to do its wonders on reheating the risotto. Again, there’s no exact amount of time on how long you will cook the risotto so make sure to check it from time to time.
Step 6. Serve.
Once the risotto is already hot enough for you, add butter or wine to the rice and mix. Remove the colander, steamer, plate or bowl from the pot and serve your dish.
Pro Tips You Need to Know!
To make sure that you can preserve the original texture and taste of your risotto, here are some of the things that you need to know:
- As mentioned above, refrigerating or freezing your risotto may cause it to dry up. Adding broth stock or wine can add moisture and address dryness.
- If you do not have wine or stock on hand, you can add water to the risotto instead.
- Adding butter to the reheated risotto can make your risotto creamier.
- If you have refrigerated the risotto, give it a few minutes to rest in room temperature before reheating it.
- If you have frozen your risotto, take some time to thaw it before reheating it.
- Once you have reheated the risotto, do not place it back in the refrigerator as re-freezing or restoring it may lead to food poisoning.
Conclusion
Risotto is one of the most laborious and time-consuming dishes to prepare, and that’s why it is a nice idea to create large batches of this dishes and just simply store them in your refrigerator. But be warned that doing so may cause some changes in the dish’s texture and taste.
To prevent that risotto from drying up, it is a must that you follow the simple tips on how to heat risotto that we have mentioned above.
Did you enjoy our tutorial? If you have any questions or suggestions, please do share them in the comments section!
0 comments
Technique 2 looks fairly easy to follow once you’ve hacked the first step: “Place the chilled refrigerator in a sauce pan”. I skipped that bit and went straight on to adding wine and broth stock, and it worked out fine.