Risotto alla Milanese

Ingredients:

* 4 to 5 cups chicken broth or stock
* 4 tablespoons butter, divided
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons chopped prosciutto (optional)
* 1 cup Arborio rice
* One-half teaspoon saffron threads
* One-half cup dry white wine (or more broth)
* One-third cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus additional at table

Method:

1. Bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan. Have a ladle standing by, and keep the broth simmering throughout the recipe.

2. While the broth is heating, melt 2 tablespoons butter in another saucepan on medium heat, being careful not to burn the butter. Sauté onion and prosciutto in butter until onion turns soft and translucent. Stir in the rice, coating all the grains, and continue to sauté another minute.

3. Ladle one-half cup of the simmering broth into the rice, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. As the broth is absorbed, stir in another one-half cup of broth. Stirring constantly, continue to add one-half cup at a time whenever the broth has been absorbed.

4. When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, ladle one-half cup of broth into a bowl or cup and crush in the saffron. While the saffron dissolves and steeps into the broth, stir the white wine into the rice. When the wine has been absorbed, add half the saffron liquid, cooking and scraping the pot until the liquid is absorbed, then add the remaining saffron liquid.

5. When the saffron liquid has been absorbed, taste the risotto. It should be firm to the bite but tender. If it is too firm, continue adding more broth as above until just tender.

6. To finish the dish, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, fresh cracked pepper to taste and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Serve in shallow bowls or on plates with additional grated cheese on the side.

Recipe from “The Global Gourmet” Kate Heyhoe

Risotto col Radicchio Rosso

Note: One of the best uses to which one can put radicchio, the intriguingly bitter red Italian lettuce, is to make a risotto. Radicchio dissolves almost totally to fuse creamily with the rice, and its original bitterness is repharased by the cooking to emerge with a softer, gentler accent. Be prepared for a transformation in color: The raw red turns to a subdued, elegant black.

Ingredients:

* 1 pound radicchio
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 5 tablespoons butter
* One-half cup chopped onion
* 5 cups meat homemade meat broth, or 2 bouillon cubes dissolved in 5 cups water, or three-fourths cup
* canned meat broth diluted with 4 and one-half cups water
* One and one-half cups Italian Arborio rice
* One-half cup dry white wine
* Two-thirds cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* Salt
* Black pepper in a grinder

Method:

1. Detach the radicchio leaves from the stem and wash them well in cold water. Drain and pat thoroughly dry in a cloth or with paper towels. Bunch up 5 or 6 leaves at a time and cut them into skinny strips about one-fourth inch wide.

2. Choose a heavy-bottomed pot and put in the vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons of the butter, and the chopped onion. Turn on the heat to medium.

3. While the onion is cooking, put the broth or bouillon in a saucepan and bring it to a low simmer.

4. When the onion becomes colored a pale gold, add the radicchio. Cook, turning from time to time until the radicchio is tender.

5. Add the rice and turn it over 2 or 3 times until it is well coated. Add the wine, stir, and let the wine bubble away for 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Add 1 or 2 ladlefuls of simmering broth, turn up the heat to high, and stir constantly, wiping away the rice from the bottom and side of the pot. When the broth has evaporated, add another ladleful and stir constantly, never letting the rice stick to any part of the pot. Repeat the procedure, adding more broth as it evaporates and stirring steadily, until the rice is done: firm but cooked through, without a chalky center. At the end there should be just enough liquid left in the pot to give the risotto a slightly runny consistency. Should you run out of broth while cooking, continue with plain water.

7. Off the heat, stir in the grated cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, mixing for 1 and one-half to 2 minutes. Add salt and liberal grindings of pepper, stir briefly, and serve at once.

Recipe from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

Shrimp and Tarragon Risotto

Ingredients:

* 1 and one-half fresh large shrimp in the shell
* Stock
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris
* 4 cups homemade or canned low-sodium chicken stock
* 3 cups water
* One-half medium onion, coarsely chopped
* About 10 fresh parsley stems
* About 8 3-inch sprigs fresh thyme
* 2 fresh bay laurel leaves, or 1 dried
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 medium shallot, finely chopped (about 6 tablespoons)
* 1 and one-half cups Arborio rice
* 1 teaspoon salt, less if using canned stock
* One-third cup coarsely chopped fresh French tarragon
* One-fourth cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
* Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Shrimp stock: Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells. Cover the cleaned shrimp and refrigerate. Heat the olive oil in a medium (3-quart) heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat until it smokes steadily. Add the shells to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn a deep orange and are just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Pan-roasting the shells gives the stock much of its flavor, so take the time to do it carefully. The roasted shells should release a concentrated, toasty, shrimp aroma that will fill your kitchen. Add the wine to the pan, first turning off the gas flame to prevent the alcohol from igniting, then return it to medium heat and boil until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the chicken stock, water, onion, celery, parsley stems, thyme, and bay leaves and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer gently uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into another medium saucepan and place it over low heat. You should have 5 to 6 cups stock. Discard the solids.

2. Starting the risotto: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, less than 1 minute. Add the rice and stir over heat for 1 minute.

3. Adding the liquid: Ladle 1 cup of the hot stock and add the salt (omit at this point if you used canned chicken stock to make the shrimp stock). Stir the rice continuously with a large wooden spoon until all the liquid is absorbed. After the first addition of stock, you will need to stir the rice very often, but you don’t have to stir it continuously. It’s all right to set the spoon down for a few minutes at a time, but stay close by and don’t get distracted. You never want the rice to get so dry that it sticks to the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat at medium-low so that the rice is at a steady but very gentle bubble when you stop stirring. When the rice absorbs the first cup of stock, add another. Continue stirring and adding stock in this way, always waiting until the rice absorbs the liquid before adding more. The risotto will take 25-30 minutes to cook from the first addition of stock. When done, the mixture will be creamy and the rice will be puffed and somewhat tender but still have a little bit of a bite in the interior when you chew it. It should not be mushy.

4. Finishing the risotto: When the rice is done, add the shrimp and continue to stir the risotto until the shrimp are not longer translucent and just cooked through, but not curled into a tight circle, 3 to 5 minutes. They should still have a tender snap when you bite into them. If necessary, add a little more stock as the shrimp are cooking to keep the risotto moist and creamy, it should form a spreading mound if spooned onto a plate. Stir in the tarragon and parsley. Season with black pepper, and additional salt if necessary. Spoon the risotto into warmed bowls and serve right away.

Recipe from The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld