For years I avoided it because directions always made risotto seem terribly complicated. And the directions didn't make sense because I'd learned that stirring rice was bad and risotto recipes had lots of stirring. I didn't get it.

Until I made it.

You know how oatmeal cooks? How, as you stir it, it gets thicker and thicker? Or how mashing a few beans against the side of the pot thickens the broth?

That's what's happening with risotto: jostling the rice by frequent stirring thickens the broth. Then letting rice cook without a lid allows the broth to evaporate, which makes the broth even thicker. In other words, risotto is all method. If you cook Arborio rice (the one preferred for risotto) the usual way (1 cup rice, 1-3/4 cups water, covered with no stirring), the rice will come out dry but a little sticky, like any short-grain rice. But if you cook it in too much broth and stir it a lot, the broth thickens up and becomes a lovely, silken sauce.