Risotto Milanese

Risotto Milanese is my favorite risotto dish. If you’re just starting to experiment with risotto, I highly recommend this, as it has fairly minimal ingredients and helps you to master the basics of cooking risotto. Risotto may seem intimidating (many a contestant on Top Chef has been sent home by Tom due to gluey risotto,) but I assure you, with a little practice it is super simple. What makes risotto Milanese so special is the gorgeous golden color and rich flavor delivered from the saffron threads in the broth. While cooking, remember that they key to great risotto is consistently adding broth and stirring almost constantly, so you don’t end up with a paste like texture.

Ingredients:

7 cups chicken stock

2 cups dry risotto (arborio rice)

1 tsp saffron threads

1 small onion (finely chopped)

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper, to taste

Heat stock and saffron over medium high heat, until it comes to a boil, then lower heat to just keep the stock hot, but not cooking.

In a large shallow skillet (try not to use non-stick here) melt the butter, add the onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes.

Then add the Arborio rice and stir to toast the rice, about 2 minutes.

Add the wine and cook while stirring until evaporated.

Next, we begin to add the stock, 1/2 a cup at a time, consistently stirring the rice as the stock absorbs. Repeat until you’ve used almost all the stock and the risotto is creamy. The rice texture should be soft but still have a bite to it. You don’t want mush. This process should take about 15-20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, add in the Parmesan and salt and pepper, stir to incorporate. Serve in beautiful shallow bowls and enjoy!