Stirring Instincts: Risotto, Arancini, and the Joy of Leftovers

An intuitive approach to risotto with a gochujang twist—plus leftover alchemy with arancini and rösti

Gochujang tomato prawn risotto transformed into Arancini the next day

There are some dishes you come to know so well they become second nature. Risotto is one of those dishes for me. I never use a recipe anymore, it’s something I can feel my way through, with one hand on the spoon and the other holding a glass of wine. It’s not complicated, but it does ask you to be present. Stirring, tasting, adjusting. Cooking by feel, not by formula.

This post is a guide to making risotto by intuition, and then, how to give it a second life as a batch of golden, crisp arancini.

Start with the Stock

The very first step is to have your stock simmering beside your risotto pot. Not boiling, not cold, just a gentle simmer. That way, every time you add a ladleful to the rice, the temperature stays steady and the cooking keeps flowing.

The stock should match the essence of your risotto. A fish or prawn stock for seafood risotto. A deep mushroom stock for something earthy. A gentle chicken broth for vegetable-forward versions. If you haven’t yet read it, here’s my full post on making stock, a useful reference for flavouring your risotto from the ground up.

Choose the Right Pot (and the Right Heat)

I like to make risotto in a flat-bottomed wok. It gives me enough surface area for good evaporation and easy stirring, and its curves keep the motion natural and fluid. A wide-bottomed saucepan works well too, what matters most is that it allows the rice to spread out and cook evenly.

Heat is another key element. You need enough to keep a gentle, consistent simmer, but not so much that it becomes a rolling boil. On my stovetop, that’s around 7 out of 10. As the risotto nears the end, I turn it down to 6. You’ll get to know your own heat setting, it’s all part of the practice.

The Base and the Rice

Start with a glug of olive oil and one finely chopped base vegetable, usually just onion. Keep it simple. Once the onion is soft but not coloured, add your Arborio rice. I go by feel, about 1½ handfuls per person, which usually means four to six handfuls when I’m cooking for guests, leaving a little extra for lunch or arancini.

Stir the rice for a minute or so to coat it in the oil and toast it lightly. Then pour in your wine. A good splash, maybe half a glass, white and dry. Stir gently to allow the wine to be absorbed and the aroma to lift.

Add Stock, Stir, Repeat

Once the wine has evaporated, it’s time to start feeding the rice. Add two ladles of hot stock, stir, and let it absorb. Then repeat. Stir often, not constantly, but regularly enough that the rice moves, releases starch, and cooks evenly.

This is not a set-and-forget dish. Risotto rewards your attention. I continue this pattern for about 10 minutes, then start tasting to track how far the rice has to go.

When the grains still have a little chalky centre but are close to done, I slow the additions, just one ladle at a time, watching and stirring until it’s nearly perfect.

Final Ingredients, Finishing Touches

Now’s the moment to add anything delicate. In the prawn risotto I made last night, I stirred in ¾ cup of small peeled prawns during the final two minutes, just enough time for them to cook through without going rubbery.

For something like asparagus, I’d add the stems early and save the tender tips for the end. Greens, peas, and herbs should be folded in at the finish, to preserve their colour and vibrancy.

Once the rice is cooked just right, with a tiny bit of bite in the middle, I take it off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of cold butter and 1 cup of finely grated parmesan. If the risotto tightens too much at this stage, loosen it with another ladle of stock. It should ripple gently on the plate, never sit up stiff like porridge.

Finish with freshly ground black pepper and extra parmesan on top.

Risotto variations to Try: Building Your Own Risotto

Once you understand the rhythm of risotto, you can start to play with the ingredients you fold in. Here are a few favourite variations to inspire your own creations:

• Fennel Risotto with Lemon and Parmesan
  Sauté finely sliced fennel at the beginning with the onion, and finish with lemon zest and juice. Add a little crushed fennel seed to the stock if you want to deepen the aniseed notes.

• Mushroom Risotto with Thyme and White Wine
  Use a mix of fresh and dried mushrooms, adding the dried ones early and reserving the fresh for the last five minutes. Thyme works beautifully here. Finish with butter, parmesan, and a drizzle of truffle oil if you're feeling indulgent.

• Spring Green Risotto
  Stir blanched asparagus, peas, and zucchini through near the end, keeping them bright and fresh. A handful of chopped herbs, parsley, chervil, or mint gives a lovely green finish. Optional: crumble in some soft goat’s cheese or ricotta at the end.

• Saffron and Prawn Risotto (Risotto allo Zafferano con Gamberi)
  Bloom a pinch of saffron in a little hot stock and stir it through mid-way. Add prawns in the final two minutes, its rich, golden, and elegant.

• Roasted Pumpkin and Sage Risotto
  Fold through roasted cubes of pumpkin near the end, and fry a few fresh sage leaves in butter to garnish. A spoon of mascarpone stirred in with the parmesan takes it to another level.

• Risotto al Barolo (Red Wine Risotto)
  Use a bold red wine like Barolo or Shiraz in place of white wine. Add sautéed radicchio or pancetta, and finish with a sharp, aged cheese like pecorino or Grana Padano.

• Sweet Corn and Basil Risotto
  Stir in fresh or grilled corn kernels, and finish with torn basil and a squeeze of lime. Add a pinch of smoked paprika or Aleppo pepper for warmth.

Each version starts the same way, but the final flourishes let you build risotto to suit the season, your pantry, or your palate.

Prawn Gochujang Risotto

This version had a little heat and a lot of depth. I added a large cube (about 2 tablespoons) of my Gochujang Tomato Sauce to give the dish a base of fermented warmth and umami. Here's how it came together:

• 1 finely diced onion, sautéed in olive oil

• 4 handfuls Arborio rice

• Splash of white wine

• 2 tablespoons Gochujang Tomato Sauce

• ¾ cup small peeled prawns (added in last 2–3 minutes)

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 cup parmesan cheese

• Hot prawn stock (or chicken/fish) as needed

• Black pepper to finish

It was warming, savoury, and just spicy enough to feel like something new and exciting.

Gochujang Arancini

I always make a bit more risotto than I need. Arancini is the reason why.

The next day, I rolled spoonfuls of the leftover risotto around a centre of:

• One extra prawn

• ½ teaspoon gochujang tomato sauce

• A small piece of fresh mozzarella

Each ball was dipped in egg wash, rolled in panko crumbs, and shallow-fried until golden and crisp.

To serve, I perched a cooked prawn and two Sicilian capers on top of each arancini. The dipping sauce? Equal parts gochujang tomato sauce and labneh balls, blended into a smooth, creamy, spicy-savoury swirl.

Risotto Rösti

If you have just a scoop or two of risotto leftover, too little for arancini try my Risotto Rösti . Crisped in a pan or sandwich press until golden and edged with crunch, it’s one of my favourite ways to stretch a meal into something unexpected.

Grape, Pancetta and Hazelnut Salad

This week’s salad was born of a rummage through the fridge, a splash of instinct, and the kind of accidental alchemy that makes cooking such a joy.

I started with a bunch of black grapes, juicy, sweet, and just beginning to wrinkle. To them I added pancetta, sliced into thin strips and slowly sautéed until caramelised and just crisp around the edges. A small red onion was shaved into fine slithers, sharp and fresh and tossed in with the warm pancetta and grapes.

The dressing? A simple glaze made by reducing 100 mL of balsamic vinegar with two cloves of garlic, finely sliced. I let it reduce until syrupy but still pourable, then whisked in a splash of olive oil (or hazelnut oil if you have it).

Pour the warm glaze over the grape and pancetta mixture and toss gently to coat everything. Serve beside a bunch of rocket, wild or cultivated then finish with a scattering of roasted hazelnuts.

It’s rich, bright, salty-sweet, and wildly satisfying. A happy accident worth repeating.

Fig Compote with orange and rosemary

Fig Compote with Orange & Rosemary

This week’s sweet is a jarful of late summer: fresh figs softened into a compote with citrus and herb-scented sugar, inspired by

Shell Plant

delicious Orange and Rosemary Shortbread.

I used 180 grams of ripe figs, each cut into quarters, along with a few fine slithers of orange rind and the juice of half a lemon. For sweetness and aroma, I added 90 grams of Shell’s orange and rosemary sugar, a fragrant blend that brings the entire compote to life.

Everything was combined and left to sit for a few hours so the juices could begin to draw out and the flavours meld. Then I warmed it gently over low-moderate heat for about 15 minutes, taking care not to let the figs break down too much. The result is a compote that still holds its shape, but spoons like velvet.

Serve it with vanilla ice cream, dollop it onto warm scones, or stir it through soft ricotta, which you can buy or check out

Michael Procopio

recent post on making ricotta. It would also be right at home piped into cannoli shells with that same ricotta for a dreamy, Sicilian-inspired bite.

A sweet spoonful of sunshine, softened fruit, and botanical memory.

Risotto by Heart

Once you know the rhythm of risotto, toast, splash, stir, ladle, taste, it becomes something you can do with your senses. Then once you have the foundation, the variations are endless. What you don’t eat the first night becomes something even more delicious the next.

If stirring isn’t your thing, or you're after a more hands-off method, I highly recommend

judy witts francini

Non-Stir Pumpkin and Saffron Risotto. It’s exceptional, silky, golden, and full of depth, with a method that breaks a few rules and proves that risotto, like all good things, can evolve.

Let me know what your risotto looks like this week, and what you make from the leftovers. I’d love you to subscribe to Spice Chronicles and leave a comment or press the little heart, it really does make a difference.

©Lisa McLean 2025