The Naked Chef's Basic Risotto

approximately 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
3 finely chopped shallots or 2 medium onions
1/2 head of celery, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
14 oz risotto rice
1/2 c dry white vermouth or white wine
5 tbsp butter
3-3 1/2 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Stage 1: Heat the stock. Then in a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the shallot or onion, celery and a pinch of salt, and sweat the vegetables for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and after another 2 minutes, when the vegetables have softened add the rice. Turn up the heat now. At this crucial point, you can’t leave the pan, and anyway, this is the best bit.
While slowly stirring, continuously, you are beginning to fry the rice. You don’t want any colour at any point (so remember, you’re in control, and if the temperature seems too high, turn it down a bit). You must keep the rice moving. After 2 or 3 minutes it will begin to look translucent as it absorbs all the flavours of your base (it may crackle at this point, that’s fine). Add the vermouth or wine, keeping on stirring as it hits the pan - it will smell fantastic! It will sizzle around the rice, evaporating any harsh alcohol flavours and leaving the rice with a tasty essence,
I must admit I’m a sucker for dry vermouth. When it cooks into the rice it seems to give it a really full but subtle flavour and leaves a wicked sweetness that works perfectly with the rice. White wine is lovely, probably ore delicate and fresh. Try both - see what you think.
Stage 2: Once the vermouth or win3 seems to have cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a pinch of salt (add small amounts of salt to taste while you are adding the stock). Turn down the heat to a high-ish simmer (the reason we don’t want to boil the hell our of it is because, if we do, the outside of the rice will be cooked and fluffy and the inside will be raw). Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and allowling each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take tabout 15 minutes. Taste the rice - is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Check seasoning.