Risotto alla Milanese

• 10 minutes to prepare • 30 minutes to cook • Serves 4

 

 

Risòttin

Risotto alla Milanese, which means ‘rice in the style of Milan’ is one of the most famous dishes of the Northern Italian cuisine in the world.

The main secret ingredient of this specialty is saffron that creates its vivid yellow color and unique flavor.
According to one legend about its history, the idea of using saffron for a rice plate came to mind of an assistant of a famous painter Valerio di Fiandra in the middle of the 18th century.
When the painter was working on the great windows of the Milan Cathedral, known as Duomo, his assistant used to add a bit of saffron to the colours to make them appear more vivid. One day, by mistake (or as a joke) the assistant added some saffron in a big pot where the rice for painter’s daughter wedding dinner was cooking. Surprisingly the dinner was not ruined, on the contrary, it was the day when a new milanese dish was born.
Today you can find this yellow risotto in every Lombard restaurnt as a main dish or as a side dish for ossobuco – another traditional dish made of veal shank slices with marrow bone in the center.

You can easily make Risotto alla Milanese at home following this recipe. We offer you the original Italian version, but if you want to make your dish lighter you can use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, and vegetable stock in place of meat stock. 

 

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

320 g Carnaroli rice 
1 shallot
15 saffron threads
1 l meat broth
1 glass white wine
50 g grated Parmesan cheese
20 g butter
salt

1. Melt the butter in a pan, and braise the chopped shallot until golden
2. Pour the rice into the pan and let it toast for 1 minute
3. Simmer it with the white wine until it evaporates
4. Cook the rice, adding a spoonful of boiling broth at a time, as for a normal risotto, (please refer to the cooking time indicated on the rice package)
5. Take one ladle of boiling broth and pour it in a bowl. Add the saffron threads and stir to mix. Finally add it to the risotto and go on with the cooking
6. A few moments before the rice is done, add freshly ground pepper and the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately!

In the following, Nutrition Facts of this dish are indicated. Data is provided per serving.