Archive for May, 2009
Risotto Recipes: Saffron Risotto (risotto alla milanese)
Posted on May 29, 2009 06:30:58 AM
Saffron risotto
Almost four months so far and just one risotto recipe (it was the first one: mushroom risotto. I added some tips there, so it’s worth checking out ). This can’t be good, so here I make amends with an Italian classic: risotto alla milanese, with saffron, which is kind of expensive but worth it.
Now, this is a simplified version, the original risotto recipe would also use veal bone marrow in the sauté, but here in Dublin veal is virtually impossible to find in the form of simple piece of meat, so I won’t bother looking for a bone marrow. At least use beef stock if you can.
This risotto recipe is for two people.
- 30g (1 oz) butter
- ½ onion, chopped
- 130g (4 ½ oz) risotto rice (or normal rice if you just can’t or don’t want to)
- ½ glass white wine
- A few strands of saffron
- ½ liter (1 pint) beef stock
- 30g (1 oz) parmesan
Heat the stock in a separate pan.
Melt half the butter in a pan and add the onion. Let it sweat at low heat for 7-10 minutes then add the rice.
Turn up the heat and keep on stirring for 2-3 minutes until the rice is lucid.
Now pour the wine, turn down the heat, and keep on stirring.
When the wine has gone, pour the first ladle of stock and add the saffron, which is usually grounded and melted separately, but I prefer to add it straight to the rice.
From now on there are three simple rules: keep the heat at medium level, wait for the stock to be almost completely absorbed before adding the next ladle, and never stop stirring.
After about 15-20 minutes the rice should be al dente. Timing is essential here: make sure you don’t add the last ladle of stock right before taking it off the stove as the rice should be neither too dry nor semi-liquid.
Now it’s my favourite moment: take the rice off the heat, add the rest of the butter and the parmesan, give a quick stir and cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes. Uncover, give a good final stir and serve straightaway.
This risotto recipe is from Milan, if you have the chance to be in that area, try it. I’m not that crazy about Milan, to be honest, but you have two wonderful lakes, Lake Garda and Lake Como in the area. Italian lakes holidays in the North seem to have gained more and more popularity over the past years.