Massimo Bottura’s risotto, created in 2012 to use up the Parmigiano Reggiano damaged by the Emilia-Romagna earthquakes. No onion, no garlic, no butter, no wine — the cheese does all the work, including the seasoning.
Serves 4. Start the day before.
Put the grated Parmigiano and the water in a large pan and bring it up slowly to 80°C. Do not let it go past 90°C or the cheese will split. When it turns stringy, take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Bring it back to 80°C and cool it again.
Cover and chill overnight, at least 8 hours. It will settle into three layers: a Parmigiano cream on top, milky stock in the middle, protein solids at the bottom. Lift off the cream and keep it, strain the stock, throw away the solids.
Crush the peppercorns, vacuum seal them with the water and leave at 20°C for 24 hours. Distil in a rotary evaporator at 24°C. Keep the distillate cold in a spray bottle.
Keep the Parmigiano stock warm in a pan. Toast the rice in a separate wide pan in a little olive oil, then start adding the stock a ladle at a time, stirring, as for any risotto.
About three quarters of the way through, start working in the Parmigiano cream and the black pepper oil, a spoon at a time, adding the rest as the rice comes to the finish. Let it sit a minute in the pan, still stirring.
Pour onto the plate and spread it flat. Spray the pepper distillate over the top at the table.
Don’t salt it. The stock is salty enough on its own.
The rotary evaporator is the one step that stays in the restaurant. Without it, finish with the pepper oil and a grind of the mixed peppercorns over the plate — good, but not the same dish.