Risotto is the classic northern Italian dish of rice cooked slowly with stock to a creamy, flowing consistency. Short-grain varieties such as arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano are toasted in fat, then ladled with hot stock a little at a time, stirring constantly so the grains release their starch into a velvety sauce while staying al dente at the core. It is finished off the heat with butter and Parmesan in the step called mantecatura. Risotto takes endless forms: mushroom, seafood, saffron alla milanese, spring vegetable. The technique demands attention and timing, since the dish waits for no one, and the starch-thickened creaminess must come from the rice itself, never from added cream. Done well, it is comfort and elegance in one bowl.