Risotto is an Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat, fish, or vegetable-based. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy is with butter, wine and onion.
Risotto is a very delicate dish to make. The preparation of ingredients is very important. The cooking itself requires a lot of timing and concentration. This may seem like it's a lot of trouble, but the reward is worth the sweat. Risotto is normally used as a first course, served before the main course, but there is one type of risotto called Risotto alla milanese which is served with Ossobuco alla milanese.
Starting from rice, there are varieties of risotto which differ in ways of preparing.
Varieties used in Italy are Arborio, Baldo, Carnaroli, Maratelli, Padano, Roma, and Vialone Nano. There are more expensive ones like Carnaroli, Maratelli and Vialone Nano (also considered the best). Different users prefer one over the other. They have slightly different properties, such as, Carnaroli is less likely to get overcooked than Vialone Nano, but the latter, being smaller, cooks faster and absorbs condiments better. The preparation is basically the same for most of risotto recipes. The ingredients may differ, depending on what kind of taste one is trying to achieve. For thick creamy rice, adding parmesan, wine or butter will do the trick. Seasoning with salt and pepper, and mixing rice with mushrooms and onions is also common.