Peel and finely chop the onion; the aim is for it almost to disappear into the dish, rather than remaining as distinct chunks, so take your time over doing this (you could substitute two shallots, if you prefer – their sweetness works particularly well with the flavour of the wine and cheese).

Melt a generous tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan set over a medium-low heat, then fry the chopped onion until soft, golden and limp, but not coloured.

Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the rice and fry, stirring constantly, until the grains are hot and starting to turn translucent around their edges.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a gentle simmer on the hob.

Once most of the rice grains are semi-translucent, pour in the wine (it should hiss when it hits the pan) and leave to bubble away until it’s almost all evaporated.

Stir in a ladleful of hot stock, then leave to cook until it’s all been absorbed (there’s no need to stir at this point).

While you wait for that, lightly crush most of the saffron threads in a mortar (keep a few back to use as a garnish later), then pour in a little of the hot stock and leave to steep and infuse.

Keep adding ladlefuls of hot stock for about eight minutes, waiting until each one is absorbed before adding the next, and begin stirring the rice as you do so.

Keep going until the rice is just a little al dente for your taste; classically, it should still have some bite in the centre, but that’s up to you.

Stir in the saffron-infused stock.

Add the remaining butter or bone marrow to the risotto, along with the grated cheese; grana padano is the local option.

Cover and leave to sit for a couple of minutes, then vigorously beat the risotto until it turns creamy.

Season to taste (you may well not need any more salt), garnish with the reserved saffron and serve at once in hot shallow bowls.

Alternatively, to get ahead, after the first eight minutes of cooking the rice in stock, spread out the rice in a single layer on a large baking tray. Leave it to cool, then transfer to a suitable container, cover and chill. When you’re ready to eat, simply return the rice to the pan, heat both it and the stock back up and continue with the recipe as written.