You shake the pan and a saffron-yellow risotto ripples — all'onda, like a wave. Butter and Parmesan beaten in at the end give it that cream. It should flow onto the plate, not sit in a heap. If it doesn't move, you loosen it with a spoon of stock.
This is Milan's rice dish, the partner of ossobuco and complete without it. Saffron came through the city's trade; the colour is the point, a deep honest yellow, floral and a little metallic.
Toast the rice until the edges turn translucent. Then stock, a ladle at a time. Off the heat, beat in butter and cheese — mantecare. Rest one minute. Serve at once.
Method
- 01
Ladle off a scoop of the hot stock and crumble the saffron threads into it. Let them steep while you start the rice — the color will bloom from rust to a deep, honest yellow, and the scent will turn floral and a little metallic. Don't skip the steeping; saffron thrown dry into the pan is a waste of a dear spice. Keep this ladle aside; you'll add it midway.
- 02
Melt half the butter in a wide, heavy pan and sweat the minced onion until it is soft and pale, without color. Add the rice and stir it for a minute or two until the edges of each grain turn translucent and the centers look like little pearls. You should hear a faint clicking as it toasts. This toasting is what keeps the risotto from going sloppy later.
- 03
Pour in the wine and stir until the pan is almost dry and the alcohol has gone. Then add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring, waiting until each addition is absorbed before the next. Midway through — about eight minutes in — add the saffron and its soaking stock. Sixteen to eighteen minutes in all; the rice should be tender but with a faint bite at the center.
- 04
Take the pan off the heat and beat in the remaining butter and the Parmesan with a wooden spoon — this is mantecare, the beating that makes it creamy. Rest it one minute, then shake the pan: it should ripple like a wave, all'onda, and flow onto the plate rather than sit in a heap. If it doesn't move, loosen it with a spoon of stock. Serve at once.
