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Pour 7 cups of water or other cooking liquid into a large pot and bring it almost to a boil.
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Cover, and keep it hot over very low heat, on a burner close to the risotto pan.
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What You Are Doing: In this stage of cooking, you are softening and caramelizing the onions to form a flavor base for the risotto.
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You are keeping them from getting brown or crisp, and softening them by cooking in water, so that they will ultimately melt into the risotto.
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You then cook off the water completely, to prepare for the next step, toasting the rice.
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Put the 1/4 cup oil, onions, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in the big risotto pan, and set over medium heat.
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Cook the onions slowly, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, as they sweat, soften, and gradually take on a golden color, 8 to 10 minutes.
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Adjust the heat if the onions are about to get brown.
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Ladle 1/2 cup of water into the onions, stir well, and continue to cook the onions without letting them brown, still over low to medium heat, for another 5 to 10 minutes.
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The onions should be golden and glistening with oil, but all the water must be cooked away.
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What You Are Doing: In this critical step, every grain of rice becomes coated and cooked in hot fat (the oil).
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This forms a capsule on the outer layer of each grain that will prevent it from absorbing too much liquid too fast and possibly disintegrating.
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Toasting means that the rice must be cooked on the outsidenot brown.
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Toasted rice will still look white, but you can hear a clicking sound when you stir it.
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When the onions are completely devoid of water, add the rice all at once, raise the heat to medium, and stir constantly with the oily onions.
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Cook for about 3 minutes, until the rice grains have been toasted, but do not allow them to scorch or color.
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Have the wine ready to add.
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What You Are Doing: In this quick step, you are balancing the starchy character of the rice with the acidity and taste components of dry white wine.
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These are quickly absorbed by the rice kernel, but the alcohol cooks off.
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Rice that is not tempered has less flavor and yields a starchy risotto.
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Pour in the wine all at once, and cook with the rice for 2 to 3 minutes, over medium heat.
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Stir constantly all around the pan, until the moisture has evaporated.
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Have the hot water close by, and be ready to add it with a ladle or measuring cup.
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What You Are Doing: For the next 15 to 20 minutes, the gradual addition of hot liquid (it must be hot!)
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has two effects on the rice: it draws out the starches stored in the kernels, just a bit at a time, while the kernels are slowly absorbing liquid and cooking.
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Short-grain Italian rice has an abundance of a particular starch that, when released by the kernel into the warm liquid and fat in the pot, forms a creamy suspension.
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You must maintain a steady gentle simmering to maintain this process of amalgamation.
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While some of the liquid is absorbed by the rice, it is also evaporating, and the risotto will thicken and heat up rapidly.
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You stir continuously to prevent the starches from scorching.
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And you must add more liquid in small amounts to continue the process as described, until you have reached optimal softening of the kernels and development of the suspension.
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It is OK to stop stirring and leave the rice shortly after each addition of liquid, when it is wet and the danger of scorching is minimalbut dont go far.
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For the first addition, ladle in 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the very hot liquid, enough to barely cover the rice; stir it in continuously, all around the pan.
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Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and stir well.
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Lower the heat, if necessary, to maintain a very gentle perking.
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Stir frequently at first, and then constantly as the risotto thickens.
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Make sure the spoon is reaching in all the corners of the pan, on the pan bottom, and around the sides.
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When all the water has been absorbed, the risotto is harder to stirthe bubbling sounds thicker tooand the pan bottom is visible in the track of the spoon, ladle in another cup of water.
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(If you are flavoring your risotto with a saucesee box, facing pagestir it in at this point, before the second addition of water.)
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Cook, stirring always, and add another 2 cups of water when the risotto is ready for it, as just describedanywhere from 3 to 6 minutes between additions.
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Keep track of how much liquid you have added.
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What You Are Doing: In this final step, you stop the cooking when the risotto reaches the consistency you want.
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You finish with olive oil, as a flavoring and amalgamating agent, and incorporate grated cheese and fresh pepper as flavor elements, to taste.
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After the addition of at least 5 cups of water, you can taste and gauge the degree of doneness of the rice kernels and the fluidity of the creamy suspension.
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At any time that you find the rice grains pleasantly al dente and the risotto creamy, you can choose to stop cooking.
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Or you may incorporate more water, up to about 7 cups total, if you want a softer, looser risotto.
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When you are satisfied, turn off the heat and stir in the 2 tablespoons olive oil.
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Stir in grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
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Serve the risotto immediately in heated bowls, with more cheese and pepper at the table.
