Risotto Milanese, Easy Plus Tips

Recipe: Risotto Milanese Recipe »

Today's Risotto Milanese recipe reveals all the secrets to making a perfect risotto! This creamy risotto is made with carnaroli rice, saffron threads, bone marrow or butter, wine and stock and is finished with butter and parmesan cheese. Saffron risotto is the ultimate risotto to make but thanks to some tips and tricks you'll create the perfect risotto Milanese every single time, I promise.

About Risotto Milanese

Risotto was said to have originated the 16th century in Northern Italy, specifically in the Lombardy region which is where Milan is located and is why Risotto Milanese is such a revered dish. It is made with mostly simple ingredients: rice, broth or stock, wine as well as one extravagant ingredient: saffron which gives it that signature golden look. The saffron is said to have come from the Moors and Saracens. Also traditionally bone marrow is used to make risotto Milanese. You can also use butter if bone marrow is not available. It's such a beautiful dish that I love making. And honestly all you need to make it look good is a white plate!

I'm so excited to share this risotto Milanese recipe with you today. Ever since seeing Monica make risotto at home I've learnt so much about real Italian risotto. I use Carnaroli rice as it is the best rice to make risotto with. This risotto is relatively fluid and all'onda aka wavy or flowing in waves where a spoon passed through it should leaves waves.

What is the difference between Carnaroli and arborio rice? Carnaroli rice is known as the "king of risotto rice" as it has the highest amount of starch in it as well as a firmer texture. This means that your risotto will have a gorgeous creamy texture and the rice won't turn mushy. This medium grain rice is grown the Pavia, Novara, and Vercelli provinces of northern Italy, near Milan.

What does Milanese risotto taste like? Well it's a creamy risotto with a light cheese flavour and the unmistakable flavour of saffron which to me, has the aroma of honey.

What do you serve with Milanese risotto? The most popular accompaniment with Risotto Milanese is Osso Bucco which also comes from the same area of Italy in Milan. I gave the recipe for this yesterday and once you try them together you'll see why people love this pairing so much.

Ingredients for Risotto Milanese

• Saffron - Use as good a quality saffron for this recipe as you can. I used an Iranian saffron which was incredibly vivid. Tasmania also grows saffron too.
• Bone marrow or butter - Ask your butcher for one half beef marrow bone (sliced horizontally), that will be more than enough marrow for this recipe. Or you can make a beef broth using marrow bones too.
• White or brown onion - Keep the onion white or brown just so you get that lovely golden colour as red onion will show up. Also note that garlic is not traditionally used in risotto, only onion (something Monica taught me).
• Carnaroli rice - You will find this at Italian delis and specialty stores.
• White wine - Make sure to use a dry white wine, not a sweet one. Any white wine will do. If you don't want to use wine, sub with extra broth.
• Beef or chicken broth - Risotto Milanese is usually made with beef broth but I actually prefer it with chicken broth (but that's just a taste preference). I also find it has a lighter golden colour with chicken broth as opposed to a dark golden with beef.
• Butter - use salted or unsalted. I only really have salted butter in my fridge.
• Parmigiana reggiano cheese - because it's Northern Italy where Parmigiano reigns.

Tips For Making Risotto Milanese

1 - Carnaroli rice is the best rice for risotto because of its high starch content (more than arborio rice) and long, firm rice grains that won't turn mushy. I love it because it cannot overcook so it's great for beginners making risotto too.

2 - Do not wash the rice as this washes the starches away that help give the risotto its signature creaminess.

3 - Saffron is hard to measure in weight because it is so light but I measure two fat pinches. The water should look red after soaking. If the water looks yellow, then the risotto Milanese will look a pale yellow and not the vivid yellow that is its signature colour.

4 - Soak the saffron in the hot water from a kettle, for as long as possible, from 2 hours up to 24 hours. it should be a deep orange/red colour.

5 - Make sure that you keep the broth simmering on the stove and avoid adding cold broth to the rice because it doesn't combine as well as hot broth.

6 - Use the creamy part of the bone marrow. You'll notice one part is stringier and one part is creamier in texture.

7 - Make sure that you strain the saffron before adding it so that you don't get the threads of saffron in your risotto. This is mostly an aesthetic thing but when a risotto is this beautiful you want to keep that look!

8 - You want the butter and parmesan at the end to be cold in order to create a "thermal shock" that makes your risotto extra creamy!

9 - The most important tip that I learned from Monica is that risotto should sit flat on a plate and not high in a pile. With risotto, the test for the right texture is it the rice is tender and not hard in the centre but you can also shake the plate and the risotto will spread out to the edge. My favourite move is to move the plate back and forth horizontally and the risotto will smooth out and the liquid will help it cling to the plate.

10 - Serve risotto straight away. I always heat up the osso bucco first and then have it ready to ladle on top of the risotto.

If you have any risotto leftovers try making my Sicilian Arancini! And for dessert try this Classic Tiramisu that I learned to make in Bologna, in the north of Italy!

Risotto Milanese Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus soaking of saffron

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients Needed

• 20ml/0.7flozs boiling water
• 2 fat pinches saffron
• 40g/1.4ozs bone marrow or butter
• 60g/2ozs white or brown onion, finely diced
• 320g/11.3ozs carnaroli rice (do not wash!)
• 150ml/5flozs white wine (dry, not sweet)
• 4 cups/1000ml/1 quart beef or chicken broth
• 1 cup/250ml hot water (you may need a little more or less)
• 120g/4ozs cold butter, cubed
• 80g/2.8ozs parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated, cold

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Soak the saffron threads in the boiling water for as long as possible, from 2 hours up to 24 hours. Place the broth in a pot and heat up to a gentle simmer. Heat the bone marrow or butter in a large frying pan and sauté the onion in it for 3-4 minutes or until translucent and cooked through but not caramelised. Add the rice and mix with the butter toasting the rice for 2 minutes. Then add the wine and simmer for a minute. Then add a ladle-ful of hot broth and stir in.

Step 2 - Keep adding in ladles of the hot broth. When 3/4 of the way through the broth, strain the saffron water, catching the threads in a sieve. Stir this in and stir. Keep adding the remaining broth and then the water by the ladle until the rice is tender and uniformly bright yellow. If there are any little brown bits from the marrow remove these. Add the cold butter cubes and stir rapidly and allow to melt and then add the cheese also stirring rapidly. Spoon into a plate and serve immediately. To make it sit flat on the plate, move the plate horizontally back and forth where the rice will cling to the plate and smooth out. I love serving this with osso bucco alla Milanese and gremolata.

Personal Note

Ever since I learned how to make risotto properly I can't stop making it. I love how simple it is and I love the texture of it. Mr NQN used to hate risotto because he found it dry especially when you'd get this thick pile of it, but this version with the all'onda waves is sheer perfection. I like to think that as far as risotto goes, I've got game.

Mr NQN is someone with no game, well in one sense of relationships. He's like the antithesis of a player. When we first started seeing each other it was in Hong Kong where he was expatriated to set up an overseas office of a company. We were watching tv in my hotel room and around midnight he left but ended up leaving his wallet behind with me. I didn't realise it until the next day when I saw that it had slid way under a pillow. And of course the next day I had to call him to let him know that he had left it behind. And the rest they say, is history.

I was watching a tv show where they dubbed this move the "classic leave behind. I turned to Mr NQN and pointed at the tv. "That's what you did!" I exclaimed, reminding him of Hong Kong. He remembered it but he swears he didn't do it deliberately. I mean what person leaves behind something as personal and important as a wallet but as I say, he really has no game!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you think you have a good game at something be it risotto making or relationships? Do you like or have you tried risotto Milanese?