"At home we ate potatoes, never pasta," Cornelia Poletto tells Stern at her cooking school in Hamburg. Today she has dedicated herself to Italian cuisine and is even an ambassador for the popular cheese Parmigiano Reggiano. She tried it for the first time when she was training to be a chef, 30 years ago. For Poletto, the Italian cheese is so special because it consists of only three ingredients (cow's milk, rennet, salt) and gives many dishes that certain something. Her tip: Parmesan rind does not belong in the bin, but in the base of the risotto. For more tips on how to make a risotto, see the list below.

1. For each risotto you need a pot with even heat conduction.

2. The broth must be hot so that the cooking process is not interrupted.

3. Parmesan rind does not belong in the bin, but in the base of the risotto. It works like this: Let the butter foam up, add the finely chopped shallots, add the risotto rice (short-grain rice like the Carnaroli or Arborio varieties) and then deglaze everything with white wine.

4. Per person: a handful of risotto, possibly a handful of vegetables.

5. Risotto rice must not be washed, otherwise there will be no binding later.

6. Ready funds are very salty, so dilute with water.

7. Do not stir constantly, but only when you pour broth back on. Otherwise the natural bond is lost.

Recipe for 4 people

Ingredients:

For the sage:

For the parmesan crunch:

For the risotto:

Preparation:

Fry the sage leaves in hot olive oil until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper. Save the olive oil for future use.

Preheat the oven to 200°C circulating air. Scatter the parmesan thinly and evenly in portions in a cast-iron skillet. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes until the Parmesan is evenly golden. Remove from the pan while still warm with a spatula and leave to cool on baking paper.

Wash the pumpkin and cut into cubes of approx. 0.5 cm. Peel and finely dice the shallots and garlic. In a large, shallow saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the sage olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the pumpkin cubes with the shallots and garlic and sauté at medium temperature until translucent. Add the unwashed risotto rice and sweat for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and let it boil down.

Pour the hot vegetable stock over the rice so that it is just covered. Let everything simmer uncovered over low heat until the rice has completely absorbed the liquid. Pour in the hot stock again and stir the risotto. Continue in this way until the rice is cooked al dente, about 25 minutes. Remove the risotto from the heat and season with the remaining butter, the grated parmesan, salt and pepper, stirring constantly.

Completion:

Arrange the risotto on 4 preheated plates. Sprinkle with the crumbled amarettini, crunchy parmesan and sage leaves and serve immediately.