Risotto you do not stand over

Name: Risotto you do not stand over
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 cup arborio rice; 3 oz prosciutto, sliced crosswise into ribbons; 1 yellow onion, small dice; 2 scallions, whites and greens kept apart; 4 oz grape tomatoes; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; ¼ tsp red pepper flakes; 2 tbsp mascarpone; ½ oz butter; ¾ oz Parmesan, grated on the small holes; olive oil, salt, pepper

All the water at once, an occasional stir and the mascarpone at the end covering the difference. The ladle ritual is optional and always was.

At a Glance

Time

40 min

Adjust servings

Story

Stirring a risotto has one job, which is to knock starch off the outside of the grains so it thickens the liquid around them. A steady simmer does most of that on its own, which is why all the water can go in at once. You lose a little creaminess and you get your evening back, and the mascarpone stirred in at the end closes the gap so completely that nobody has ever caught it.

Ingredients

1 cup arborio rice
3 oz prosciuttosliced crosswise into ribbons
1 yellow onionsmall dice
2 scallionswhites and greens kept apart
4 oz grape tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp mascarpone
½ oz butter
¾ oz Parmesangrated on the small holes
olive oilsalt, pepper

Method

Risotto's whole reputation is a person chained to a hob with a ladle, and that reputation is doing it no favours. This one asks for an occasional stir and otherwise leaves you alone.

The prosciutto is not a garnish either. It goes in first, crisps, comes out, and the pot keeps everything it left behind.

Heat a little oil in a medium pot over medium-high and add the prosciutto ribbons. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring and breaking up clumps, until they are crisp. Lift them onto paper, and leave every brown scrap in the pot.
More oil into that same pot, then the onion and the scallion whites with salt and pepper. 2 to 3 minutes, until softened.
Rice, tomatoes, vinegar and the pepper flakes in. Stir 1 to 2 minutes, until they look chalky at the edges and smell toasted. The tomatoes will start collapsing, which is what you want.
Add 2½ cups of water all at once, season and bring it to the boil. Drop to medium-high and cook 12 to 18 minutes, stirring whenever you walk past, until the rice is al dente and the liquid has mostly gone. Loosen with a tablespoon of water at a time if it tightens too far.
Off the heat, stir in the butter, the mascarpone and half the Parmesan until it goes glossy. Prosciutto and scallion greens over the top, the rest of the Parmesan after.