What am I doing wrong with my risottos?

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Every time I make a risotto it takes far longer for the rice to be cooked than the recipe says, and I always have to add more stock/liquid.

Any tips?!

What rice do you use?

I use this, recipe on the side is fine as a basic one.

How do you actually make it?

I take ages over risotto. I melt some butter in the pan first, stir in the rice, then add a couple of ladles-full of stock, stir a lot, when all the stock's absorbed I add some more and go on and on and on and on like that.

Firstly, I wouldn't worry about it taking longer than the recipe says or using more liquid unless the result doesn't taste nice. If you're getting a good al dente texture and a creamy mouthfeel, then all is perfect.

On the specifics:
How long is it actually taking? A risotto normally takes between 15mins and half an hour.
How much stock is it actually using? I find that the amount of stock needed varies dramatically for no apparent reason.

you're not doing anything wrong, it's just that a 'proper' risotto has rice with a bit of bite still in it so you don't need to carry on quite as long as you think.

As far as I know, the cooking time in the recipe is just a guideline, and different rices will take different lengths of time to cook - it can even vary within the same type of rice - so one batch of arborio will take longer to cook than the next batch, for example. The same goes for the amount of liquid that the rice absorbs. I also believe that atmospheric pressure can affect it too - though that might be me talking bollocks.

Don't worry about it, just cook it until it is done, and add as much stock as you need to. You know when it is right, so trust your judgement.

I usually top up the stock at least once. Fry off the rice with onion, add stock to simmer then add softer veg and chicken/salmon etc with more stock about half way through. Takes about 25 mins total

It's a very long dish to cook. You probably aren't doing anything wrong.

Thanks everyone. I use arborio rice and it takes at least 1/2 an hour of stirring once the first bit's done (frying onion, adding wine etc.).

I'm paranoid about getting a hard bit so maybe make it too soft!

Half an hour sounds towards the longer end of what you'd need, but would prob be just fine, particularly if you like your risotto to be quite soft. In my experience, risotto rice tends to cook quite evenly -- so you're unlikely to encounter very many stray hard bits in amongst the soft...

About half an hour would be right I reckon....I always end up using loads and loads of stock, run out and then slosh some more white wine into it.

Carnaroli is better than Arborio if you can find it.

I usually have to add more stock too.

I found mine got a lot quicker when I started using warm stock - keep the stock in a pan at a low simmer then add as needed.

You'll probably all tell me you've been doing that for years but it was a revelation to me so I pass it on here!

Still takes the same length of time but doesn't require standing over hob - I use variations of this recipe and do it in the oven