Recipe - Risotto Milan Style

1 qt Homemade meat broth (canned
is fine)
2 tablespoon Diced beef marrow; pancetta,
or prosciutto
2 tablespoon Finely chopped shallots or
yellow onion
5 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
2 Arborio rice (do not
substitute another kind of
rice)
1/3 teaspoon Powdered saffron or
One half teaspoon Chopped whole saffron;
dissolved in:
1 One half cup Hot broth or water
Salt/pepper to taste

I most often use saffron in risotto; I have found Marcella Hazan's basic
risotto milanese recipe (in her "Classic Italian Cookbook) to be a good
basic starting point. Anything in brackets will be my additions...this is a
*very* flexible, basic, forgiving recipe!

Cooking directions condensed and "intuited" thru experience...

1. Bring broth to a simmer; keep it there, don't let it actually reach a
rolling boil.

2. In a "heavy bottomed casserole" (I use my le Creuset Dutch oven) saute
whatever meat you're using and shallots/onions in 3T butter and all of the
oil. When the onions become translucent, add the rice and stir for a few
minutes until it's well coated and sauteed.

3. After the rice has sauteed for a bit, add One half C or so of the hot broth
(keep it simmering!); stir this in, add another One half cup or so as the rice
dries out, and stir it often to keep it from sticking; continue for a while
(@ 15, 20 minutes. Just add more liquid whenever it starts sticking or
looking dry; the rice will soak it all up.)

4. After 15 minutes of this (when the rice starts tasing like it "might" be
done soon, add One half the dissolved saffron and whatever else you want to add
(see below); I like a lot of saffron, so I would go on ahead and add all
that you've prepared; Marcella is concerned about herbs overwhelming the
dish; my sense is that it's easy to add "a certain amount" of saffron and
then add more to taste a bit later. I like a lot.

5. When the rice is done (ie, tender but al dente, still a bit firm)
correct for salt. If you're eating this with parmesan cheese, don't add
very much salt at all. Add remaining 2 T butter and about One fourth cp grated p.
cheese and mix, and serve.

Serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese in case anyone wants it.

NOTE: I like to soak porcini mushrooms, chop them and add them towards the
end. After soaking (ie reconstituting) the shrooms, you get a nice
concentrated liquid that can be used in the risotto for cooking liquid *as
long as you drain it first* (I use a coffee filter in a sieve) I also have
had fabulous luck with just stirring in clean, raw leaves of spinach into
the risotto at the end (it wilts very quickly), zucchini, shrimp,
asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, chopped olives, fresh sage, canned tuna,
capers, anything. Literally anything.

AMMO@OWLNET.RICE.EDU

(ANNE O'REILLY)

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