Milanese risotto

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g Carnaroli rice, superfino
• 1 shallot(s), finely chopped
• 1 ½ liters chicken broth, not instant powder
• 40 g butter
• 100 ml white wine
• 1 tbsp saffron threads or at least 30 threads
• 50 g butter, cold
• 75 g Parmesan, freshly grated, real
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

Detailed description of the basic recipe for risotto, in 4 steps, as a primo piatto, not as a side dish

In Italy, risotto is always served as a primo piatto, instead of pasta or minestrone, noodles, or soup. Following a large, festive meal, risotto and pasta can also be served as a primo, together or separately. Depending on the number of courses, allow between 50 and 80 g of rice per person. It comes in three qualities: semifino, fino, and superfino. The latter is the highest quality, comprising the Arborio and Carnaroli varieties. Carnaroli is considered the king of Italian rice varieties. For a tasty risotto, a good vegetable, chicken, or, depending on the recipe, fish broth is essential. Instant broth is absolutely taboo. The broth is kept hot in a pot without boiling, and then comes the first step: sautéing – solfriggere. The shallot is sautéed very gently in the butter for 5 minutes, without browning. For the second stage, add the rice and turn it over frequently until every grain is coated with butter. This process is called tostare. Now increase the temperature slightly according to your taste and add the wine, which must be allowed to evaporate completely. Grind the saffron threads in a mortar and pestle and mix with 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water. Let it steep until the saffron is well combined with the liquid. Then add the saffron mixture. This begins the third stage: the actual cooking, or cuocere, in which the hot stock is added ladleful by ladleful. This process takes 17-18 minutes to cook a firm and creamy risotto. Stir constantly and scrape the grains from the sides and bottom of the pot. The temperature must allow the stock to just boil and remain constant. When the stock is almost reduced, add the next ladleful. From the 14th minute onwards, you have to be careful not to add too much stock so that the rice doesn’t end up too runny. At the end of cooking, the heat is reduced considerably to let the rice rest for 1 minute. Then comes the fourth and final step: mantecatura, which involves stirring in cold butter cubes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper. You should now have reached the perfect consistency, which is called risotto all’onda. This means that when you tilt the pot to the side, the rice ripples. Serve the risotto in deep bowls and eat as soon as possible, otherwise it will lose its consistency. Only with this Risotto alla Milanese can you serve veal, such as osso buco. Traditionally, however, risotto is always served without any side dishes and certainly not as a side dish on its own.