Series Comfort Food: Risotto Milanese

Simple elegance

With Risotto alla Milanese, a few simple ingredients come together to create a heavenly delicacy. You just have to know how to make it.

Sometimes perfection can be so simple! A true Risotto alla Milanese does not need fancy mushrooms, mussels or prawns to be delicious. Risotto rice, onions, oil or butter, stock, saffron, parmesan – everything is added to the pan in the right order, and what may be the easiest holiday dish in the world is ready.

Hard on the inside, soft on the outside

„Carnaroli rice stays hard on the inside but is soft on the outside. For me, it is absolutely the best risotto rice.“

Andrea Bertone, risotto expert.

A journeyman's revenge

There are several legends surrounding the creation of “Risotto alla Milanese”. The best story is that of a journeyman who is said to have used saffron to colour the windows of Milan Cathedral but was ridiculed for doing so by his Flemish master Valerio. He wanted revenge and so on the day of Valerio’s daughter’s wedding, he decided to mix some saffron into the risotto served during the wedding meal.

Important: a wooden spoon with a hole

In any case, there were references to Risotto alla Milanese being made at the beginning of the 19th century in cookbooks like “Il nuovo cuoco milanese”, which was published in 1829. The basic principles of the dish have not changed a bit since then. Onions are sweated in olive oil, butter or – more typically for Risotto alla Milanese – bone marrow, the rice is added and, after a short while, the pan is deglazed with wine (traditionalists use red wine, or leave it out completely, while modernists prefer white wine). Next, fresh and hot vegetable or meat stock is added little by little while the risotto is stirred constantly. The rice should always be covered with liquid. Also, it should always be stirred with a wooden spoon with a hole in so as not to damage the rice. Strands of saffron are ground in a mortar and then dissolved in stock. This is what gives Risotto alla Milanese its unmistakable golden colour.

A perfect wave

The risotto should have a perfectly creamy consistency. When a spoon is stirred through, it should leave a trace that then slowly disappears. Italians call this “l’onda” – the perfect “wave”. Cold butter and grated parmesan is added as a finishing touch. This is an almost solemn act which has even been given a special name: “la mantecatura”.

True Slow Food

Risotto is usually classed as a “primo piatto”, a main dish, often served as an accompaniment to meat. Anyone who wants to try a real Risotto alla Milanese cannot go wrong at Trattoria Masuelli, one of the best places for risotto in the world. The Masuelli family has been welcoming guests to this original “Bottega Storica”, which is now run by the fourth generation, since 1921. Andrea Masuelli manages the restaurant and his father Max takes care of the cooking. Even through critics complain about the long waiting times, these are inherent to the restaurant. First of all, risotto is a dish that really has to be prepared at the last minute and secondly, the principles of the slow food movement were devised by Carlo Petrini and his colleagues right here in Trattoria Masuelli.

And here is more from our Comfort Food series:

Shakshuka

Tarte Tatin