-Buongiorno.

I'm Lidia Bastianich, and teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion.

It has always been about cooking together and building your confidence in the kitchen.

I'm showing off.

Does this look like a good meal?

So make it.

For me, food is about gathering around the table to enjoy loved ones, share a meal, and make memories.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

-Funding provided by... -At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen.

Cento... -Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary.

♪ ♪ -Authentic Italian cured meats.

Paolo Rovagnati -- The true Italian tradition.

-Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy -- handcrafted from 100% sheep's milk.

♪ -Olitalia -- From chef to chef.

-Risotto can be the base for so many flavors.

So let's get creative.

Oats makes a hearty, nutty risotto with a unique texture that pairs well with butternut squash and sunchokes.

Bacon, egg, and cheese take on a new meaning when served in a risotto the Lidia way.

The risotto-bilities.

are endless.

Risotto -- It still seems to be a little mystifying to all of you out there, but it's simple and straightforward.

I have fond memories of risotto being one of my special treats cooked by Grandma.

And I loved it.

I loved the creaminess.

Even as a child, when you didn't feel too good, rice cooked with milk or rice cooked with a little bit of oil, a little bit of cheese to settle your stomach.

So all those good connotations came with rice and deliverance and, of course, of flavor.

When I first cooked at Felidia, it was, you know, a big hit.

So much so that Julia Child and James Beard showed up when I first opened and wanted to have some.

She wanted to know about the mushroom risotto that was on the menu.

And she loved it so much, so she wanted me to teach her.

So she came over to the house.

I gave her a lesson, and that's how I really got on television.

Julia invited me on her show to cook risotto for all of you.

All you have to do is really understand the technique.

And then you'll be the masters of risotto, just like Lidia.

Oat risotto.

I love cooking by the seasons.

Products in the seasons give you the best result, the best flavor, and they will have set you in the mood.

So here we are a little bit in an autumn mood.

And I love it.

It's very complex and delicious in flavor.

It's oatmeal risotto.

So, to give it all that big impact, we are going to take some of the porcini mushrooms and reconstitute them.

Porcini bring a lot of flavor to a risotto, to a soup, to whatever you cook, and you reconstitute, or bring it back, in a sense, to life, the porcini and the flavor, by adding hot water or stock.

A good basis for a risotto is always a pestata, and us Italians are into our pestata.

So the pestata is onions... ...carrots.

And this is a great pestata if you make soups, if you make any risotto.

And celery and garlic.

Here we are.

Okay, and you want it chopped fairly fine because we have all the chunks of the other vegetables that are gonna go in.

So, some olive oil to begin.

And a nice, sturdy pot.

You know, thick pot.

We've made many risottos together, you and I.

But this is a little different.

It's an oatmeal risotto.

So, the pestata is cooking.

Let's talk a little bit about oats.

These are steel-cut oats.

These are the coarse ones, whereas these are rolled oats.

So this is the one that you make for breakfast.

But for the risotto, we want this that has more texture and that it will retain that texture because risotto is about grain and texture.

One of the vegetables I'm gonna add to it is Jerusalem artichoke, or topinambur in Italian.

It's a root of a wild sunflower.

So sometimes when you're driving around and you see those tall, little skinnier and smaller sunflowers, at the bottom, there is the root, which is a sunchoke, just like this.

And I think certainly you want to wash it.

And if you wash it well, you can even use the skin.

And you peel it like a potato.

And I washed this, so I'm gonna in between leave a little bit of skin.

It's perfectly fine.

I sometimes like to leave also all the skin on it.

So let's go to the mushrooms.

So, the mushrooms have reconstituted.

You can see they're soft now.

I'm gonna chop them a little bit, and I'm gonna use this water as well.

So let's put the water right in.

And always, as you can see, here at the end, there is a little sediment because mushrooms grow in dirt.

So whenever you reconstitute it, always leave a little bit of the water with the sediment and discard that.

And I'm gonna chop up the mushrooms and get them in there.

Mm.

And let's get back to the topinambur -- the Jerusalem artichokes.

And it stays nice and crunchy when you're cooking it.

It is delicious roasted just like potatoes.

You know, it's a sort of late-summer, fall vegetable, and it's, mmm, delicious.

Let me put the tomato paste first.

I want this to cook, and then I want the tomato paste a little bit to sort of toast and cook itself.

So we have certainly plenty of tomatoes up north.

But what we do with our tomatoes, because sometimes they're not as sweet as the southern Italian tomatoes because the sun is not as intense up north, we make this conserva, we call it, which is tomato paste.

It is time to add the oats.

Just add them like that.

And this is a way of cooking also other grains other than rice.

Just pay attention on how long does the grain itself take to cook, and then you can flavor it and cook it in this fashion.

Bay leaves -- so fresh.

Bay leaves right in there.

And at this point, we'll put the water.

And unlike risotto, you don't have to slowly add water to this.

You can add it all at once because there is no starch.

So in a sense, we are cooking it almost like a soup.

And we are going to bring it down to a nice density, just like risotto.

So let's put in the Jerusalem artichokes.

That will cook together.

♪ Here I have some ready.

And, of course, what would fall be without butternut squash?

Butternut squash is creamy, the Jerusalem artichokes flavorful and a little crunchy.

We'll bring it to boil, and then we'll lower it a little bit and let it simmer.

This will take 20 minutes to half an hour to cook.

And then we'll be ready to serve it with some good cheese.

Buongiorno.

Benvenuti.

My library.

Here is Janice, and she e-mailed me and is asking how to make a pestata without a food processor.

Hmm.

Those were the times, you know.

Certainly my grandmother made it.

A pestata is finally chopping something with something else.

If you don't have a food processor, you need a good board and a good chef's knife that is sharp.

So you gather all the ingredients that you want to chop.

You cut them the smallest that you can.

And then you begin to chop.

And you chop.

And then you regather, and you chop.

Then you turn it the other way, and you continue to chop until you get it at a fine consistency.

When my grandmother was doing a pestata, and she had bacon or lard in there for the soup, what she would do is that she would take her cleaver or her knife and dunk it in the soup, let it warm up, and then would come back and start chopping.

And that would help to melt the lard or the bacon.

So keep on chopping.

Have a good board and a good sharp knife, or a small cleaver will do as well.

Okay, Janice.

Ciao.

The risotto is done.

Let's remove the bay leaves.

You know how many you put in.

Make sure you get that many out.

So, to give it some more flavor... Fontina cheese.

So, let's add this.

And you shred it so it gets a chance to melt.

Just like that.

And you can see that it's already forming i fili, which means the threads of cheese, of melting cheese.

So there is i fili.

So, some grana on top.

And, you know, this, you do off the fire, and you do it when you're ready to serve.

So here we are.

Mm-mmm!

Let's bring it to the table just like that.

I think your family will like that very much.

And you just... Look at those fili right here.

Oh.

Mamma mia.

Che delizia.

What a delight.

♪ Mmm!

Okay.

One portion.

A generous portion, that is.

Mmm!

♪ As you can see, you need to get going with this.

Nice and hot at the table.

Some grated cheese on top.

So let's eat while it's hot.

Let me taste this.

♪ Mmm.

The Jerusalem artichokes are crunching under my teeth.

What a great, comfy family meal.

Good glass of wine.

And you don't need anything else.

♪ Some of my favorite times in the kitchen has been teaching my grandchildren to grow into confident cooks.

And these days, even though they are living on their own, that doesn't mean they stop asking for advice.

"Sharing recipes" -- arancini.

I'm checking in with Olivia.

We do this periodically.

I'm sure she has something to tell me or to ask me.

[ Computer beeps ] And here she is.

Hi, Olivia!

How are you doing?

-Hi.

I'm good.

How are you?

-Okay.

Have you been eating?

Have you been cooking?

Have you been having a good time with your girls or your friends or you've been just working hard?

What is going on?

-All of the above.

But I was gonna call you and tell you that I made those arancini rice balls last week for my friends.

-Good for you!

-Mm-hmm.

-Did you make the risotto, too?

-Yes, I did.

I made both.

-So tell me what you did.

-Well, I just did exactly what we did the other time we made it.

But I was on my own.

I made the rice up first, cooked the rice, and then put in some peas and ham and a little piece of mozzarella in the middle, just like you told me, and then rolled them up into the balls and put them in the breadcrumbs and egg and fried them, and they were ready to serve.

It was pretty easy.

-And did they come out as beautiful?

Because, you remember, you did better than I did with my arancini balls when we did them together.

-Yeah, I was -- I was pleasantly surprised with myself.

They stayed intact, and they were delicious.

Yeah, they were really good.

-So your friends really enjoyed it?

-Yes.

They did.

We'll have to do a part two soon.

Make some more for everyone, maybe with different filling.

-All right, good.

Let me know when you have time.

We'll go out to dinner.

Okay?

-Okay.

Sounds good.

-Okay.

Love you.

-Love you.

Bye.

-Bye-bye.

Mwah.

Ciao.

Breakfast risotto.

I bet you didn't know you could have a risotto for breakfast.

Well, I had it.

My grandma would make it for me now and then.

And I'm gonna teach you how to make it for your family.

It's simple and delicious.

So let's begin with a slab of bacon.

It's great.

And I think... this is enough.

Cut it in lardoons.

♪ So...to make a risotto, you need a nice wide pan and thick on the bottom so that the heat disperses evenly and that you have enough space for the stock to evaporate in to make the risotto nice and creamy.

Let me put on oil here.

[ Sizzling ] And here I have -- You know, for a good risotto, you always need hot stock.

You don't even have to make risotto just for it.

You always need stock.

Onion.

Onion is a big flavor builder in risotto.

The beauty of risotto, of cooking, for that matter, is that you can do, you know, whatever you have, whatever you like.

So let's get some chopped onions.

♪ Okay, so we have our little base.

I think we're okay.

Let's add the onions.

And I usually add some salt to the onions at this point, but the bacon has enough salt, so we will taste as we go along.

While that is cooking, let's clean up the pepper.

I like the flavor.

If you like other vegetables, that's okay, too.

The pepper gives it some color, some taste.

You know, after all, it is breakfast risotto.

Let's add the rice right now.

So, this is an important step.

You add the rice and you toast the rice, just mixing it like that.

Next, we'll chop up the pepper.

The pepper is just -- Little cubes are fine.

Dice it up so it kind of looks like specks in the risotto.

This breakfast risotto, we will add also some eggs.

Oh, this is done.

The rice has toasted.

The rice is thirsty now.

It's gonna take in this wine, just like that.

So which wine do you use?

Well, white wine usually for risotto.

You can make red wine risotto, but white wine is usually.

And we will let the wine evaporate, and the rice will absorb the acidity and the flavor of the wine.

So, let's recap all the important points.

You render the onions and bacon.

Then you toast the rice.

You add a little acidity, the wine.

Once the wine has evaporated, slowly add in the stock and mix in, just enough to cover the rice.

And I'm gonna add the peppers now because I want them to sort of mellow down a little bit and release some of their flavor.

Let's add some salt... some pepper.

♪ I'm gonna keep stirring, adding a little bit of stock until the risotto is cooked, and we are going to serve risotto for breakfast.

Jeannine has a question about risotto.

And she says, "I would really like to know how you make your risotto so creamy.

Mine is either too dry or too mushy."

Jeannine, it's all about the technique.

So it's a simple process.

The process really requires short-grain rice.

The short-grain rice releases its starches more readily.

You want to toast it first.

You want to coat it with oil.

You don't want to wash it.

Then you want to flavor that rice.

You add a little bit of wine into it and then mix hot stock, just enough to cover the rice.

Mix, mix, mix.

The starches are coming out, and the extra water is evaporating.

More stock and back and forth.

And you will see in the pot that the liquid will get creamier.

You have to be attentive.

When you're getting to the end of the cooking time, you begin to taste.

Is it the texture that you like, the flavoring, whatever it needs?

It's not?

A little more stock.

Not a lot.

A little more.

And back and forth.

And you keep on tasting.

That's an important technique to learn.

So keep on cooking.

You know, in the kitchen, it's like dancing -- two steps here, three steps there.

Add this, add that.

And, you know, it's orchestrating all of that that makes you a good cook, and you can do other things while you're cooking.

So the risotto, adding a little stock.

It's almost there.

Let me do some scallions.

And the scallions, I add towards the end.

I don't want it to cook all the way.

Just a little blanching will give me the flavor that I want.

Okay.

Mmm.

This is looking good.

I'm gonna add a little bit of stock here, and then I'm gonna get -- The last element in here is the eggs.

Just like scrambled eggs.

And if you like that, you will love this.

Let's get the eggs.

♪ A pinch of salt.

♪ Okay.

So, I'm gonna add a little bit of hot stock to temper the eggs, just like that, because, otherwise, they would curdle all at once.

So we have that right.

Then I'm gonna add this right to the risotto, just like that.

♪ Mmm!

Yes, this looks good.

Time to shut off the heat and finish it off with some cheese.

Some grated cheese, just like that.

And here I have your breakfast risotto.

It is ready to be served.

Here's a question about Italy.

"What are the main differences between northern Italian and southern Italian food and influences?"

There is a difference.

The main difference is due to the climate, but not only to the climate.

Italy's food is really influenced a lot by the different occupations.

Occupation of different cultures.

Italy, which is smaller than California, has 20 regions.

It's very diversified.

Up in the north, we have the French in Piemonte and Lombardy, and then we have the German, the Austrian-Hungarians in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The south -- you're talking Sicily -- was occupied by the Moors, by the Arabs.

Sardinia -- the Portuguese.

In some of the hills in Puglia and in Calabria, they speak Greek.

They speak a Greek dialect.

The north has pastures, a lot of cows, a lot of good cheeses -- the grana, the milk cheeses -- butter.

South, they use a lot of oil.

The olives grow forever.

There's not many plains, but they have a lot of sheep.

So sheep cheese is used that really add that flavor.

Interesting, huh?

For me, it's all about knowing where this food comes from.

And I continuously go back and do just that.

We're ready to serve.

All set.

So, I don't want to dribble all over.

Look, this nice bowl of risotto for breakfast.

Now, who wouldn't like that?

Mmm.

Okay.

This is a good bowl of risotto.

Absolutely.

I served you, and now a little tasting for me.

Okay.

This looks good.

♪ Deliciousness and the creaminess of risotto, and then to taste the breakfast, bacon and eggs.

It's fantastico.

Come.

Come to my garden.

It's beautiful.

And the risotto is flowing.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

Andiamo!

I use the technique of flavoring a risotto for different grains as well.

Different grains can be cooked at a given temperature, but flavored and mantecati, which means whipped up with flavor, just like a risotto.

Risotto, once you have learned the technique, you can flavor it in many ways.

You have a good product that you want to add to this mixture that is rice, you can do it -- seafood, meat, spring vegetables, fresh-shaved truffles.

So it's endless.

Rice always had a tinge of being special at our house, and Grandma loved her risotto -- She loved her mushroom risotto -- the complexity, the sort of feeling of being out in the woods, because she used to forage for mushrooms.

So I guess she related to that.

And when I made that for her, she felt special.

-[ Speaking Italian ] -Si.

-[ Speaking Italian ] -Si.

[ Singing in Italian ] ♪ -The food from this series makes Italian cooking easy for everyone and showcases simple-to-prepare recipes that require fewer steps, fewer ingredients, and less cleanup, without sacrificing flavor.

The recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbook, "Lidia's a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl," available for $29.95.

To purchase this cookbook and any of her additional products... ♪ To learn more about Lidia, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques, and much more, visit us online at lidiasitaly.com.

Follow Lidia on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @lidiabastianich.

♪ ♪ ♪ -Funding provided by... -At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen.

Cento... -Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary.

And by... ♪ "Lidia's Kitchen" studio provided by Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.

♪ ♪