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Risotto alla milanese

Name: Risotto alla milanese
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 piece large beef marrow bones, cut where the marrow is thickest; 1 tsp saffron threads (about one small packet); 2 tbsp hot water, to soak the saffron; 1 l good veal or chicken stock; 375 ml water, added to the stock; 20 g butter, to start; 1 piece small onion, finely chopped; 500 g Carnaroli rice (or Arborio); 60 g butter, chopped; 40 g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve; 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 sprig flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to serve (optional)

Saffron risotto from Milan, started in butter and beef bone marrow and finished with more butter and Parmesan. This version, from SBS Food's Feast magazine, serves six and uses Carnaroli rice.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 6
Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 30 min
Total: 45 min
Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Heavy-based saucepan for the risotto
Second saucepan to keep the stock hot; ladle
Small knife to take the marrow from the bones; wooden spoon

To drink & serve with

The source suggests a dry Italian-style white such as Trebbiano.

Substitutions

Beef marrow → Leave it out and use 20 g more butter. The flavour is plainer.
Carnaroli → Arborio or Vialone Nano.

Common mistakes

Letting the onion brown: it turns the risotto bitter and dark.
Using cold stock: it stops the cooking every time you add it.
Cooking past al dente: the grains burst and turn to paste. Taste from 15 minutes.

Storage & reheating

Best eaten at once. Leftovers keep 1 day in the fridge and can be shaped into balls, crumbed and fried.

Safety

Allergens: milk (butter, Parmesan). Many stocks contain celery: check the label.

Allergens

Milk · Celery

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

gluten-free

A Milanese dish

SBS Food presents this recipe, first printed in Feast magazine, as a traditional dish of Milan. It keeps two features that mark the Milanese version: bone marrow melted with the butter at the start, and saffron, which gives the yellow colour.

The recipe uses no wine, and it adds most of the stock in one go after the first ladle rather than ladle by ladle. The result is the same kind of loose, creamy risotto, but you need to watch the pan in the last minutes.

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Toasting, saffron and the finish

The rice is stirred in the hot fat for 4 minutes before any liquid goes in, until the grains start to turn translucent. The saffron is soaked in a little hot water and pressed to release its colour, then added near the end so its aroma stays fresh.

The last step is the creaming: off the heat, 60 g butter and the Parmesan are beaten in. The source prefers Carnaroli for a creamier result and allows Arborio.

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How it connects

Place

origin Milan In preparation

Rice

made with Carnaroli
made with Arborio
related Vialone Nano

Risotto alla milanese

Equipment

Ingredients

Risotto

To finish

Method