Savoury milk risotto
Ingredients:
- Rice (320 g)
- Whole milk (800 ml)
- Water (600 ml)
- Butter (40 g)
- Parmesan (40 g)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
A risotto worth sitting down for
Milk risotto is quiet, comforting cooking: a savoury bowl with a soft dairy sweetness and a little Parmesan. This is a main course, not rice pudding. Allow about 35 minutes, and give the pan gentle heat and regular attention so the milk stays sweet rather than catching on the bottom. This recipe serves four. Set out the ingredients before you start and use Carnaroli or Arborio rice, without rinsing it: its starch is what makes the risotto creamy.
Before you start
Warm 800 ml whole milk with 400 ml of the water in a saucepan, without letting it boil over. Keep the remaining 200 ml water hot separately for adjusting the consistency. Grate 40 g Parmesan and cut the butter into small pieces.
Build the flavour
Melt 20 g butter in a wide, heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the rice and stir for two minutes without browning it. Pour in a ladle of the warm milk mixture and a small pinch of salt.
Cook the rice
Continue with the milk mixture a ladle at a time, stirring often and carefully along the bottom. Keep a very gentle simmer: milk foams and catches more readily than stock. Add each ladle before the rice becomes dry. Start tasting after 16 minutes and allow roughly 18–22 minutes from the first milk addition, until tender with a slight bite. Use the reserved hot water if it thickens before the rice is cooked; you may not need every drop of liquid.
Finish and serve
Take off the heat and stir in the remaining 20 g cold butter and the 40 g Parmesan. The result should be softly savoury, with milk still at the centre of the flavour.
Taste for salt and pepper, then leave to rest for two minutes. Loosen with a splash of hot liquid if needed: the risotto should spread gently across a warm plate when you tap it, rather than sit in a stiff mound. Bring everyone to the table before serving; this is a dish that rewards being eaten straight away.