Bloke's Cookbook - Risotto alla Milanese

Just got home and didn't have time to shop? Hardly any food left in the house? You're in luck. Arborio (risotto) rice, some piggy product and an onion - plus a couple of common spices - is all you need to create a satisfying, tasty snack. It's fast, too, and unless you forget to stir it, hard to mess up.

As with the other risotto dish, the message for this one is stir, stir, stir. It's fast but it requires all your attention. Never add more than a splash of the stock at a time, because otherwise the rice will lose that glossy starchiness.

This dish uses saffron, which is harvested from the stigma of the crocus flower. It's the most expensive spice in the world by weight. It gives food a yellow-orange tinge and has a distinctive flavour and smell. Its use in cooking is ancient - it was popular with the Romans, for example. Saffron tends to come in two styles - powdered, or strands. The strands are the dried stigmata. To use them, you put the saffron in warm milk or water to soak for a few minutes, and then add the mix to your dish.

You will need:

1 medium onion, chopped finely;
A small amount of piggy product - this can be bacon, ham, salami, pancetta, whatever. If it's the thickness of bacon, a piece about 3" by 2" will suffice. About that amount. Work it out. Then cut it into 1/2" squares.
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube to make between 1/3 and 1/2 pint stock;
150g (ish) of Arborio rice;
Butter;
Saffron, either powdered or strands;
Salt and pepper;
Parmesan;
1 saucepan;
1 spoon;
1 cheese grater;
2 bowls for hot water.

Take your saffron, and place it in the hot water bowl. Add the hot water - about half a mug's worth - and let it sit while you do the rest of the cooking.

Take a knob of butter, a cube around 3/4", and put it in the saucepan. Turn the heat on to medium, and let the butter melt without burning. Once it's melted, add the finely chopped onion, stir the onion to coat it in butter, and let it cook until it's turning translucent.

Make your stock by the simple expedient of using the stock cube and some boiling water.

Now add the piggy pieces. Stir them in, and let them cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the rice, pouring it straight in to the mix, and then stir it in, making sure all the grains are coated with butter.

Once this is done, add a splash of your stock. Stir in, wait until the stock has been absorbed, then add a bit more. Keep adding until you've used up all the stock. Season with salt and pepper, and then add the saffron and the warm water, bit by bit, stirring all the time.

What you'll have by the end is a rich, yellow risotto. It should have a thick consistency and a glossy coat, like a labrador.

Finally, grate in approximately three large spoons worth of the parmesan. Stir in well.

Allow the dish to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.

Drink with: Works with white or red wine.

Ease of cooking and preparation: 4/5 - Simple so long as you remember to stir.

Mess Factor: 4/5 - One saucepan, a couple of bowls and a grater.

Leftover value: 2/5 - Passable cold, but not great.