Risotto Milanese Recipe 445

Steps:

• Melt half of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer the onion and beef marrow in the butter for about 10 minutes. When the onion is soft, remove the onion and marrow from the pan using a slotted spoon, and set aside. (I like to leave the onions in.)
• Saute the rice in the pan over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Stir constantly so the rice will not stick and burn. Stir in one ladle of beef stock, and keep stirring until it is mostly absorbed, ladling and stirring in more of the broth as well as the white wine in the same manner, until the rice is almost al dente. Stir in the saffron, remaining butter, and 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 4 or 5 minutes.
• Serve as a bed for ossibuchi or by itself with as much of the remaining Parmesan cheese sprinkled over as you like.

Steps:

• Coat a large saucepan generously with olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and sweat them until translucent, about 5 minutes. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, letting the rice slightly stick to the bottom of the pan and scraping it off. It should also sound crackly.
• Add the saffron to the hot chicken stock; the stock should turn bright yellow.
• Add the wine to the pan until it covers the surface of the rice. Season with salt and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the wine has absorbed into the rice. Add the saffron chicken stock to the pan until it covers the rice. Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the stock has absorbed into the rice.
• Repeat this process two more times with the hot saffron chicken stock. When the third addition of the stock has absorbed and the rice is very creamy, bite a couple grains of rice to be sure it is cooked perfectly. If it is still a little crunchy, add a little more stock and cook the rice for another couple of minutes. When the rice is cooked perfectly, remove it from the heat.
• Toss in the butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano and "whip the heck out of it." The rice should be creamy but still flow and hold its own shape.

Steps:

• In a saucepan bring broth and water to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.
• Finely chop onion and in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan cook in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add rice, stirring to coat with butter. Add 1 cup simmering broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking at a simmer and adding broth mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth mixture left over.) Stir in Parmesan, saffron, remaining tablespoon butter, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Steps:

• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy skillet. When it is bubbling, add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes; do not allow the onion to brown. Add the rice and stir it well with a spatula; do not allow it to color. Be certain that the onion and rice are well coated with the butter. Add the wine and let it almost cook away. Start to add stock, a cup at a time. Let each cup of stock cook away before adding more. As the rice becomes tender, stir it with a fork to keep it from sticking to the pan. Add salt and a touch of saffron. When the rice is done, stir in the remaining 2-3 tablespoons of butter and a little grated Parmesan cheese. Serve at once. This is usually offered as a first course in Italy but may be served with certain meats, if you wish, or as a main course at luncheon.
• Variations
• Before adding the wine, add 4-5 slices poached marrow.
• Add a little dry sherry, about 1/3 cup, to the risotto when you add the stock. If you are serving the risotto with a veal or chicken dish, use hot tomato juice instead of stock and add a little chopped basil.
• Garnish the cooked risotto with thinly sliced white truffles.

Steps:

• In large heavy saucepan or skillet, soften shallots in butter. Add rice and cook over fairly high heat, stirring constantly, until grains turn opaque.
• Add dissolved saffron and wine and stir well to prevent rice from sticking to bottom of pan. When liquid has evaporated, add a ladle of hot broth. Repeat this procedure until rice is almost tender but firm. If you run out of stock, add warm water instead.
• Turn off heat and season risotto with salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese to taste. Serve immediately with more cheese passed separately.