Risotto alla Milanese Recipe

Risotto is now pretty much a staple in many restaurants, but when I discovered it in a cooking class many years ago, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It's mostly called sticky rice in our house, as that's how various nieces and nephews first described it.

This isn't a hard process by any means, it just takes a bit of time and attention. It's more than worth the effort.

6 to 8 servings

7 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
2 cups white rice
(1/2 cup dry white wine)
(1/8 teaspoon saffron powder,
or threads crushed to powder)
4 tablespoons soft butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat chicken stock and hold at a simmer (low heat).

In a heavy pan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until they are just translucent (don’t let them brown). Add the rice and stir to coat with butter and cook until the grains are slightly opaque. Pour in the wine, if using, and cook until it is absorbed by the rice, stirring constantly.

Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and cook stirring frequently uncovered until the stock is mostly absorbed. Continue adding stock, stirring and cooking until the stock is absorbed and until the rice is cooked al dente (still firm but not crunchy). Meanwhile, stir the saffron into a ½ cup of the stock and let steep a few minutes. Add to the rice as the last moisture, stirring well, and cook until the stock is absorbed. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and the cheese, stirring with a fork so the rice isn’t mashed.

jlm