That divine risotto you order every time you go to your favourite Italian restaurant? Bet you’re dying to know how they make it. Michael Mameli, co-owner of Lupo (869 Hamilton Street), says that in order for risotto to come out right, it must be treated as a labour of love. “A lot of people are intimidated to cook risotto, but it’s actually a time-tested technique that’s very simple. You just have to be patient and do it slowly,” he says during a phone chat. If you’d still rather leave the cooking to the pros, there’s a wide variety of risottos to sample locally.

Lupo offers a side of risotto Milanese that starts off like any risotto, with the sautéing of chopped onions in olive oil. Then, uncooked risotto rice gets added, and it’s stirred until it’s coated in oil and nicely “toasted”. The heat expands the grains and begins the release of their starches. Lupo sources a one-year-aged Italian carnaroli rice. “The reason why we chose that one is because it cooks more evenly. The aging makes all the grains more consistent. The carnaroli also has more starch,” Mameli explains.

Next, cooks use Pinot Grigio for deglazing and acidity and then add vegetable stock, one ladleful at a time over the course of 30 to 45 minutes. The key is to stir frequently as the liquid is gradually being absorbed into the rice. Mameli estimates that a cup of risotto rice will require about a quarter-cup of wine and four to five cups of stock.

Risotto Milanese is known for its bright yellow colour, which comes from the pinch of saffron added a third of the way through the cooking process. And with the arrival of spring, the dish will include fresh peas, blanched to give them a vibrant green hue. They’re added, along with Parmesan cheese, near the end when the risotto is creamy but the rice is still firm. Finished risotto should be al dente; if there’s still a crunch, more cooking is needed. Easy peasy.

Both Lupo and the Poor Italian (3296 East 1st Avenue) offer a seafood risotto main. At the latter, cooks use arborio rice since, as executive chef Greg Turgeon explains, staff and diners are more familiar with it. The pescatore risotto involves adding ladles of seafood stock with a bit of tomato sauce for colour, and par-cooked fresh salmon, whitefish, prawns, mussels, and clams when the risotto is nearing completion. The light flavours of this dish are especially popular as the weather warms up, Turgeon says over the phone.

However, he says the risotto ai funghi is a year-round crowd pleaser. The liquid they use is chicken stock, as well as a porcini “tea” made by adding boiling water to dried-porcini powder. Seared porcini, portobello, oyster, shiitake, and button mushrooms are stirred in midway, while butter and Grana Padano cheese are added at the finish of the cooking process. After plating comes a drizzle of truffle oil.

Tim Evans, executive chef at Siena (1485 West 12th Avenue), gives one crucial tip for making risotto. “You have to make sure you add hot stock. If you add cold stock, it slows down the cooking process,” he says during a phone interview.

Siena’s menu features a tomato passata risotto whose deep-red colour comes from the purée that’s stirred in at the last minute. It’s a blend of shallot, garlic, onion, dried chili flakes, carrot, celery, bay leaf, fennel seed, coriander seed, fresh thyme, veg stock, and sun-dried tomatoes. The finished risotto is topped with chopped fresh oregano, a big slice of mozzarella di bufala, black pepper, Maldon sea salt, and a flourish of extra-virgin olive oil.

What do you do when life gives you too much risotto? Traditionally, you make arancini, or deep-fried risotto balls. Scott Cameron, executive chef at Adesso Bistro (1906 Haro Street), explains during a phone chat that when making risotto specifically for the restaurant’s arancini, he doesn’t look for the usually desired firm texture. Instead, the risotto should be softer and sticky enough to form into balls: “The rice is overcooked for arancini. That makes the grains swell up and stick together so that we can make the balls.”

Once the risotto is at the overdone stage, cooks add Parmesan cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and chopped roasted tomatoes. When the mixture has cooled, it’s rolled into 1 3/4–inch balls that contain a wee cube of fontina cheese. The balls are chilled and then rolled in flour, beaten egg, and finally bread crumbs. A few minutes of deep-frying until golden, and they’re ready to eat. The result: a crisp, breaded exterior and an interior of warm risotto with a bit of oozy cheese at the centre. Impossibly, risotto can be made even better.