Risotto for guests is not possible. I always thought. You have to stir constantly, add liquid, it must not boil down, must be cooked to the point – that means “al dente”. Too stressful when the guests are already in the kitchen. But that’s not true. The well-known TV and cruiseship chef, Franz Schned, told me how to do it. Risotto, completely relaxed…

You can prepare the rice as a base and keep it in the fridge for up to three days. From this base you then refine in all directions, for example to the truffle risotto, mushroom risotto, saffron risotto or herbal risotto – the imagination knows no bounds. Chef Franz Schned’s trick is to cool the rice very quickly. This is best done by stroking it about two centimeters thick on a large plate or baking tray and cooling it. Almost perfect for guests, you just have to heat the rice, add the flavors and spices, done.

My recommendation: Use necessarily special risotto rice, only rice with sufficient water-soluble starch results in a beautiful sticky risotto later. Therefore, do not wash the rice before cooking, this would wash out the sticky starch. The bigger and rounder the rice kernel, the better: That’s how it gets a creamy risotto with a bite.