Get lean on veal

Bravo to Milan, Italy

Like Osso Buco, risotto was perfected by the Milanese, and the two are frequently served together on big occasions in Italy.

8 servings

Ingredients

1 – medium onion, finely chopped
10 tablespoons – butter
2 ozs – beef marrow, minced (Veal shank bones, osso buco, tend to be rich in marrow. You can push the marrow out of the center of the bone and mince it.

Ask your butcher for regular beef shank bones if you cannot find veal shank bones. But cafes tend to have more marrow.)
3 cups – (2 – 12 oz packages) short grained rice
6 cups – meat broth (heated to near boiling) – if you have time, try making your own.
1 cup – dry white wine (e.g., chardonnay), warmed
0.1 gram – saffron pistils
1 ½ cups – parmesan cheese (more if you wish to sprinkle on top of the risotto when you dish it up), grated

Directions

Let the saffron pistils steep in a bowl with a small amount of hot beef broth. In a large frying pan over low to medium low heat (small flame), sauté the onion and beef marrow in 5 tablespoons of butter for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent. Do not brown. Remove the onion with a slotted spoon into a bowl.

You will inevitably pick up some of the butter with the onions. I just cover the onion with the spoon and pour back into the pan any excess butter that came out with the onion (the butter sinks to the bottom of the bowl).

The key from here on is to never stop stirring. You don’t want the rice to burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Change the heat to medium and sauté the rice in the butter for 9 minutes and then add the onion and marrow mixture and sauté for another minute. Don’t forget to stir continuously. Add the warm wine (make sure it is warm), and cook until it has evaporated or the rice has absorbed it completely. Then start adding the near boiling beef broth one cup at a time until each cup is absorbed (or almost absorbed) by the rice, continually stirring.

Here is where it gets a bit tricky. You want the rice to be cooked but al dente.

Keep cooking until the rice does not taste starchy or hard but is al dente.

Finally, stir in the saffron, the parmesan cheese, and 5 tablespoons of butter and mix thoroughly. Remove from the heat and cover the pan for one or two minutes. Serve immediately. Bon appétit.