The very mention of risotto can have one of two effects. The first may have you backing out of the kitchen, waving your hands protectively in front of you, while the second may see you pushing up your sleeves and reaching for the arborio, ready to relish a challenge.

The idea of risotto can be intimidating. The typical method employs stand-over tactics that fasten you stove-side, as you slosh stock in and stir, stir, stir. But at the end of the day, risotto is just a way of cooking rice and you need not be afraid. It’s about absorption and there is more than one way to achieve this.

Some of our customers prefer the stovetop method. But if the stand-and-stir tyranny of risotto-making isn’t for you, that’s all good, you can use our oven-baked method, instead. Likewise, if you don’t have an ovenproof dish, simply cook the recipe on the stove.

Fun fact: All our risotto recipes can be cooked either in the oven or on the stovetop.

So, what to do if you choose a risotto recipe in your weekly menu and the steps are for stovetop, but you’d prefer oven, or the other way round? Choose your method and follow the steps below.

Method one: Stovetop risotto

Follow the recipe card steps to prepare your ingredients, then switch to these to make the risotto, using the measurements on your card.

Step 1. Add specified water amount and stock cube/s to a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve stock cube/s. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

Step 2: Cook your prepared aromatics (this will be ingredients such as onion, garlic, leek, herbs) in a large, deep frypan over medium heat as per recipe card.

Step 3: Add rice quantity and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until well coated. Add hot stock, 250ml (1 cup) at a time, stirring continuously and allowing the stock to be absorbed before adding the next cupful, until all stock has been used, the rice is cooked and mixture has thickened. This will take about 20 minutes. The rice should be creamy, but still retain some bite.

Step 4: Stir through remaining risotto ingredients as per recipe card.

Method two: Oven-baked risotto

Follow the recipe card steps to prepare your ingredients, then switch to these to make the risotto, using the measurements on your card.

Step 1: Cook your prepared aromatics with specified oil amount in a large, heavy-based ovenproof saucepan with a lid over medium heat as per recipe card.

Step 2: Add rice quantity, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds or until well coated and lightly toasted.

Step 3: Dissolve stock cube/s in specified amount of boiling water, add to pan and bring to the boil. Cover with lid and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.

Step 4: Remove risotto from oven. Stir through remaining risotto ingredients as per recipe card.

Troubleshooting risotto

Dry risotto:

For stovetop, you need to slowly add warm stock to the rice to gently plump up the grains without drying them out too quickly. If you add too much, too fast, your rice will become soup-like. But too slow and you end up with hard grains.

Wet risotto:

Whether cooking on the stovetop or in the oven, if your risotto is not quite the right consistency and a little too wet, simply cook for a bit longer. Ovens can fluctuate greatly, so cooking times may vary from the recipe card.