Risotto alla Milanese

Ok so you will have realised from the title that I have diverged a little from this months Yum Char theme. The reason for my straying is to share a recipe with you that is inspired by a recent trip to Italy. I was fortunate to travel to Italy for the last 2 weeks in April spending most of that time around Milan and the Veneto regions in the north of Italy.

The dish is inspired by a meal I had with one of our Italian suppliers in a restaurant located right at the gates of the Villa Reale di Monza. A stones throw away from the famous Autodromo Nazionale Monza motor racing circuit.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was full of old worldly charm with the foyer more reminiscent of an old school gentlemen’s club with its beautifully detailed dark wood panelling and canvas portraits presented in heavily gilded frames. The meal itself, like all good Italian fair was simple and uncomplicated. Showcasing the flavours of hand picked high quality local ingredients. On the menu that day was a starter of Beef Carpaccio with Tuna sauce, Risotto with small Italian sausage, Cotoletta alla milanese (Veal cutlet breaded and fried)

Ingredients

Serves 4

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• 1.5 to 2 litres of Beef Stock
• 350g Rice (Aborio or Carnaroli)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 4 thin Italian sausages
• 100g Parmesan cheese grated
• 80g butter
• 20g beef bone marrow
• Pinch of saffron threads
• Salt to taste

Method

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• 1. Bring the stock to the boil in a large pot.
• 2. In a medium sized pan, heat the butter and bone marrow and onion, cook over a low heat until onions are transparent.
• 3. Stir in the rice, making sure all the rice is coated in butter.
• 4. Add a ladle of the hot stock to the rice mixture and stir until the stock is absorbed, repeat this process until all the stock is used, and the rice is tender – this should take around 20min.
• 5. Halfway through the cooking process start frying the sausages in a small fry pan.
• 6. Finally add the saffron, parmesan and the rest of the butter, taste and add salt if needed. Cut the sausage into small bit sized pieces and serve atop the risotto