Risotto alla milanese
Rice cooked slowly in stock with saffron and beef marrow, then beaten with butter and parmesan until golden and flowing.
What makes it risotto alla milanese
- Saffron — the colour and the flavour.
- Beef marrow and butter at the start, stock added a ladle at a time.
- Finished off the heat with butter and parmesan, all'onda — loose enough to ripple.
Where it comes from
A much-told legend credits a glassworker at Milan's cathedral, who used saffron to colour the windows, with tinting a wedding risotto gold. Whatever the truth, it's been Milan's own rice for centuries — a city in the rice-growing plain of the Po.
It's the one risotto traditionally served with a main course: alongside ossobuco, the braised veal shin.
How it varies
- Risotto al salto
- Yesterday's risotto pressed flat and fried crisp in butter.
- With ossobuco
- The classic pairing, with gremolata over the veal.
Be the first here
Start your own risotto alla milaneseNo one here has made risotto alla milanese yet. Start it as v1, and every version after is an experiment the next cook can learn from.
