“Risotto alla Milanese” is the typical dish of Milan, in every corner of the city you can find it. In general, the ingredients are: risotto rice (i.e. carnaroli or arborio), Grana Padano (or Parmesan), white wine, saffron, butter, meat broth & onion.
Some “gourmet” restaurants serve this with cooked & juicy bonemarrow in the middle and some with the reduction of the meat broth like a sauce on top, if you go to the famous restaurant of chef Marchesi in Milan, you can taste his signature dish: risotto with golden leaf (another variation of this risotto)
Ingredients | 3 servings
- 300g/10.5oz Carnaroli rice
- 4 knobs of butter
- pinch of ground saffron
- 60g/2.1oz grated Grano Padano cheese or parmesan
- 1L meat Broth
- half of onion
- 1/2 glass of white wine
Preparation
Saffron water: pour boiling water on ground saffron (0.5g circa) in a small glass. Let it rest for 10-15 mins.
– Sauté the grated onion with butter in a hot pan for 1 min.
– Sprinkle a bit of salt (not much because meat broth & cheese are salty)
– Add rice and toast: stir them in the hot pan, till the rice becomes slightly translucent, the pan should be dry and hot.
– Give it a thermic shock by pouring the white wine.
– Continue to stir till the wine evaporates & the starch starts to be released.
– The meat broth should be warm, add 2-3 ladles of broth and continue to stir till the broth is absorbed.
– If you like the risotto to be “al dente” continue to add broth for the next 14-15 mins.
➡️ If you’re not a fan of al dente: continue to add the broth and taste the rice till they are softer.
– In case the broth finishes earlier, add boiling water to complete cooking the risotto.
– 1 minute before Turn off the heat, pour the saffron water and stir.
➡️ Don’t worry if you see the risotto’s consistency is runny, it should be because Rice absorbs quickly and to have a creamy result we have to give it humidity.
– Add 3 knobs of butter & cheese together.
– Mix lively, some chefs even waving the rice in the pan to “mix” them (they believe this way, “more air” goes inside the risotto!).
Now you should have a silky & creamy risotto.
When serving, you’ll notice the rice becomes slightly denser on the plate.
You can serve this as it is or with a cheese cracker* in the middle. One of the classic dishes of Milan is the saffron risotto with Ossobuco. so if you have prepared the meat it can goes on top.
Buon appetito! ☺️
*cheese crackers: in a non-stick pan, sprinkle in form of circles the grated cheese, when it melts wait till it starts to change its color to yellow/brownish remove them with a spatula and while it’s soft (and warm), bend it on a cool surface like a small glass. When it’s cold the cracker is ready!
