Marco Bianchi’s “Lombard” risotto

A risotto (very good) without sautéing, without butter and without broth it is possible. Marco Bianchi, food mentor and scientific popularizer of the Veronesi Foundation, proposes it with brown rice, cooked in milk and water and then creamed with a handful of pecorino and served with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios: here is his “Lombard” risotto, light and easy to do, of which you can find the recipe in the gallery above, one of the 70 contained in his new book Our health at the table (Harper Collins)

This risotto is an example of how too the great classics can be revisited for healthier versions to eat every day and proof that, with a few carefully chosen ingredients and simple preparations, you can create tasty dishes: it is there basic rule of the Mediterranean Diet, and it is from here that Marco Bianchi starts in his book.

This time, with its simple and creative cuisine (and with its way of doing that makes you want to try), it invites you to rediscover this diet that Unesco has declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, because it remains the best for living better and longer thanks to a clever combination of lifestyles – including conviviality, in addition to physical activity – and a wide range of foods.

I’m fruit and vegetables, pasta and bread (preferably wholemeal) and – in order, as regards protein sources – legumes, eggs, cheeses, fish and meat (to be eaten maximum twice a week), seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and spices or aromatic herbs: foods rich in substances that have a protective effect on the body, able to reduce illness and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular or cancer. In the book Marco Bianchi groups them into seven categories (excluding, as always, meat) and for each he suggests 10 recipes accompanied by illustrations by Niccolò Canova and, as always, by photos by Gaia Menchicchi. To see the risotto recipe, browse the gallery above