Milan: Risotto Milanese style

Serves 4
320 g Carnaroli rice
150 g dry white wine
25 g Butter
0,25 gr Saffron in pistils
1/2 White Onion
Meat stock to taste
For the mantecatura
120 g butter cold from the fridge
80 g cold grated Parmesan cheese

Milan: Risotto alla Milanese. Prepare about 1 litre of classic meat stock, which should always be kept very hot. Peel and finely chop half a white onion, pour 25 g butter into a large frying pan and then the chopped onion. Let it wilt over medium heat to soften. Once browned, pour in the rice, toast it for a couple of minutes and deglaze with white wine. Pour in the very hot stock until it is covered and continue cooking over a high flame, adding hot stock as necessary. Gently soak the pistils in hot water and stir gently to revive them. Three quarters of the way through cooking the rice, add the saffron pistils with the soaking water. About one minute before the rice is cooked, remove the pan from the heat, add about 120 g of chopped butter, very cold from the fridge, and stir. Pour in the grated Parmesan so that the cooled butter and cheese create the thermal shock that will make the risotto creamy and glossy. Serve the risotto alla milanese piping hot. Together with Panettone and cotoletta, Risotto alla Milanese is one of the symbols of Milanese cuisine. The dish’s certified origin comes from a recipe dating back to 1574 that added saffron (used at that time to ‘colour’ glass) to a white risotto with butter. In the rich version of the dish, 30 grams of minced beef or ox marrow can be added, and it can also be served with an ossobuco (veal shank). The wine pairing is very broad, ranging from acidic, fruity whites such as a Riesling to soft, aromatic reds such as Barbera d’Asti.