Risotto alla Milanese is one of my favorite Northern Italian dishes. This is a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is the ultimate comfort food for me. Nothing warms your stomach, and your heart, better than a nice creamy risotto.
Risotto alla Milanese is a creamy rice dish made with Arborio rice and saffron, which is what gives it that golden yellow color. My variation adds mushroom and broccoli rabe (not pictured), so if you want to make the traditional version, just follow the recipe and omit those two ingredients (everything else remains the same). Broccoli rabe was a random addition because I had some in the fridge that needed to be used, but generally I either make risotto plain or with mushrooms.
As with any recipe that is passed down, there are no real measurements to follow, so the amounts are an estimate of what I used. To measure the rice, we (my family) measure by "pugnetti", which loosely translates to "fistfuls", so we calculate about 3 fistfuls of rice per person. Cup your hand into a small bowl and fill it with a small mound of rice. For this recipe, I counted two people, so 6 fistfuls. Good luck!
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion or 1 small onion, diced
6 firstfuls of Arborio rice (approx. 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
Approx. 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (bouillon cube is better, and as a general rule you want the liquid to be at least 2x the amount of rice)
1/2 - 3/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups chopped broccoli rabe
1/4 cup dry white wine (cooking or drinking wine)
1 packet saffron (it's maybe equivalent to 1/4 tsp or less)
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste
Parmesan to taste
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil (if you are using a cube, use 2 cubes and boil in 4 cups of water). If you are adding mushrooms, add those to the broth as it comes to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium heat and cook the onion until it becomes translucent. Add the rice to the onion and stir until all of the oil is absorbed. Add the white wine, and once again let the rice absorb it. Pour in the broth and mushroom mixture, add the broccoli rabe (if you are using it), and stir until everything is combined. Cover the rice, turn the heat to low, and let it cook for 15 minutes. Have a small saucepan of boiling salted water (1/2 cup or so) on the side and ready for later use. After 15 minutes, uncover the rice and taste. If the water has completely absorbed and the rice is undercooked, add a little bit of the boiling salt water and stir. Cook covered for 3 more minutes, then uncover, add butter, and let it sit for a moment. If the rice is close to done after 15 minutes and a little bit of water is left, add salt if needed, and let it rest on the low heat uncovered for 3 minutes, then add the butter. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and stir in the packet of saffron into the rice. Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan.