In all but the best restaurants, risotto is abused—cooked in advance, baked, and who knows what else—so if you have never made risotto at home, you are in for a treat. It takes a little patience and a little practice, but it is not a difficult process at all. True risotto alla Milanese contains—indeed, features—bone marrow, but don’t be discouraged if you cannot (or will not) deal with that. Risotto is wonderful without it, and prosciutto makes an adequate substitute. What you do need are Arborio rice (now sold everywhere, but still best purchased in Italian markets), real saffron, and, ideally, good, homemade stock. (Having said that, see my “bare-bones” variation.) I might add this: After years of trying every possible technique to make my risotto as creamy as the best I’d ever had, I realized that the “secret” was large quantities of butter. Don’t hold back unless you must.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the stock in a medium saucepan and turn the heat to low; add the saffron. Put 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large deep nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium. (Allow the remaining butter to soften while you cook.) When it’s hot, add the onion, along with the meat if you’re using it, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 2
Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with butter, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then the white wine. Stir and let the liquid bubble away.
Step 3
Use a ladle to begin to add the warmed stock, 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When the stock is just about evaporated, add more. The mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep the heat medium to medium-high and stir frequently.
Step 4
Begin tasting the rice 20 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with still a tiny bit of crunch; it could take as long as 30 minutes to reach this stage. When it does, stir in the softened butter and Parmesan. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve immediately.
Bare-Bones Risotto
Step 5
A compromise, but still a very good dish in a pinch: Use water instead of stock and 2 tablespoons olive oil at the beginning of cooking (it’s still worth stirring in a tablespoon of butter at the end). Omit the marrow and, if you must, the saffron.
Risotto al Limone
Step 6
Lighter, more delicate, and perfectly fine when made with water instead of stock: Omit the saffron and marrow. In step 1, replace the onion with 2 or 3 chopped shallots, 1 celery stalk, chopped, and 1 fresh rosemary sprig (or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary). In step 4, when the rice is almost done, stir in the grated zest of 1 lemon. Stir in the juice of the lemon, along with the butter, at the very end. For extra richness, add 1/2 cup heavy cream if you like and cook for another minute, stirring. Add the Parmesan and serve.
Risotto with Red Wine
Step 7
Omit the saffron, meat, and white wine. Substitute good red wine—something made with nebbiolo or sangiovese grapes will give you a taste most like that you’d have in Italy—for the stock. Both butter and Parmesan are needed to cut the wine’s acidity.
