Can you freeze leftover risotto? | Kitchen aide

2 hours ago 6

I have tried various ways to reheat risotto after freezing, but it always turns into a gloopy, starchy, unappetising mess. What am I doing wrong?
Jill, by email
“Freezing risotto will be a bit of a disaster,” says Theo Randall, chef/patron at Theo Randall Cucina Italiana at the Intercontinental in London, “and it doesn’t really work.” The reason for this is that the cooked rice absorbs all the moisture while it’s defrosting, resulting in, well, Jill’s gloopy mess.

It’s also possible her risotto was overcooked to begin with, says Sue Quinn, author of Cheese Please. “Softer grains mean more leached starch, which leaves less leeway for further cooking without it going sticky and pasty.” Then there’s the question of reheating that defrosted rice for too long: “That can over-soften the already-cooked rice,” adds Quinn, so you have to do it “quickly and only until it’s piping hot”.

The reality, however, is that “freezing, thawing and reheating rice will make it squishier whatever you do”, Quinn says, but “if that’s the way Jill rolls”, her best bet is to get that defrosted risotto in the microwave, sprinkle it with a little water or stock, cover loosely, then reheat on high in one-minute intervals, stirring in between, until it’s hot all the way through. “To do this on the hob, put the defrosted risotto in a pan with a splash of hot stock or water, and stir gently over a medium heat for just long enough to distribute the heat.”

And, says Randall, if Jill “really has to freeze leftover risotto”, he would urge her to turn it into arancini instead: “Those work quite well, because you’ve encased the cooked rice in flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs, so moisture doesn’t penetrate the grains.”

Alternatively, Jill could shun the freezer altogether and simply turn her leftovers into another meal the next day, Randall says: “One of the great Milanese dishes is risotto al salto, which is usually made with saffron risotto. Keep any leftovers in the fridge, then, when you’re ready to use it, get a hot pan, melt some butter in there – don’t let it brown, though – then tip in the risotto.” You want to pack that rice right down, so it gets into the edges of the pan and resembles a pancake. Leave to cook for five minutes – “Don’t touch it!” – and you’ll eventually get a lovely crust on the bottom of the rice. “Flip it over, again just like a pancake [or use a spatula to help, if need be] and cook for a further five minutes on the other side. You’ll end up with this lovely, crisp and slightly gooey risotto,” Randall says, “and that’s probably by far the best way to use up risotto leftovers.”

And if Jill still wants to batch-cook, Poppy O’Toole suggests a shift in mindset: “The kind of rice that you can freeze would be baked [basmati] rice,” says the author of The Actually Delicious Batch Cookbook, namechecking a spicy chicken number that appeared in Feast a few weeks back. “That freezes and reheats beautifully.” Of course, the freezer is a fan of plain rice, too: “That’s a better way to batch-cook rice,” O’Toole says. “Freezing and reheating risotto never truly works.”