Rissotto alla Milanese

--taken from italiannotebook.com




Sautee one small onion (and, for the purists and anyone who scoffs at BSE coming between them and a proper plate of risotto, a few tablespoons of beef bone marrow) in a hearty plug of butter first.

- Then add a pound of risotto rice (for purists, semifino vialone nano), and heat well, stirring for 2-3 minutes.

- Add half a glass of white wine, and toss until wine evaporates.

- Then add three ladles of already boiling beef broth, stir once, and let sit on medium-low flame without stirring until next ladle is needed (broth both evaporates and is slowly absorbed by rice).

- Half-way through, "melt" a pinch of saffron in a ladle-full of boiling broth, and add to the risotto.

- Turn off flame when the rice is "al dente" and the risotto "all'onda", (literally, "it stays to the wave". Right. Ask a Milanese and you'll get a metaphysical disquisition about rice acquiescing harmoniously when subjected to energetic forces imparted to it by a wave. Basically, just think rice with a California, go-with-the-flow, surfer-like attitude). Roughly, it needs to woggle as opposed to remain immobile when you wobble the pan. (Woggle and wobble both being very scientific terms.) I.e., it should still be liquid enough.

- Add another plug of butter and some parmiggiano, and stir for 30 seconds.

- Let sit for a minute, then serve.