Yes, I just called Risotto "food for the gods" and rightly so. No other dish is as simple yet magical as risotto. It is versatile beyond your imagination, it is simple in preparation yet it requires patience and passion. It takes time to cook, but when you eat it you will feel like time stops allowing you to absorb the spirit of its creamy essence. Yes risotto is one of those dish that moves you into an experience- not a meal. It is one of those experience where simple words are not enough to convey its meaning- but you are forced into a prose;

Inside the sweltering heat of the kitchen,
an insolent fool looms over a smoking pot...
stirring, pouring, stirring, pouring- repeatedly.
This cycle of madness religiously followed
without pause, without reflection...
He is driven by the need to follow
to conform to tradition...
Every grain needs to be coated
every drop of flavor reduced to its very essence
until he says- "al dente".
He stops his maddening cycle- in one graceful move
The Risotto is in a plate-
piping hot
every grain of rice rich with cream
the scent announcing its boldness
proudly proclaiming itself king!
The foolish cook stares at its work and says;
this is why I do what I do.

Yes, Risotto is not just rice! Hell rice is not even the main attraction- although it is vital. Risotto is a combination of the type of rice, the cooking method, and the flavor base. It is one of those dishes that I consider as a true reflection of Italian cooking. It is simple yet diverse- you can make meat based risotto, fish based risotto or even fruit based risotto. I have tried many and none is superior over the other. It can have different textures- but the rule of thumb is always that risotto should not be too runny. How will you know if it is the right texture? The cream should still be able to hold the rice together- when your rice is floating your risotto is wrong and when your rice is sticking your risotto is also wrong. The cream should coat the rice grains well and it should be when gives the rice its body.

Now, I keep mentioning cream- please do not get the bright idea that in making Risotto you have to add cream in it. Adding cream in your recipe is dead wrong and an abomination- although some cook-books do suggest it- the author is either stupid or lazy, for sure not Italian. The cream I kept on mentioning is a natural consequence of the cooking method and the rice used. First of all you should only use these types of rice "arborio, vialone, roma and carnaroli." Secondly during the cooking process you have to keep stirring and flipping the rice in your pot to squeeze out its natural cream. This is very important because the cream becomes the vehicle for your flavor base- if you do not successfully bring out the cream your flavor is lost. You have to keep adding broth until the essence of your flavor base is extracted fully. This process is physically tiring that's why some lazy cook-books suggest adding cream- but never listen to them. Like I said earlier about pasta- if you are too lazy to follow tradition then you have no right to cook Italian- just order a take out or go to McDonalds.