Ornella brings Milanese classics to the heart of Hackney

If there is one dish that epitomises the northern city’s cuisine, it is Hassan’s bestselling risotto alla Milanese. He estimates that as many as a third of all main courses ordered – up to 180 portions from around 500 covers each week – are the saffron-infused classic.

Preparation begins at 9am, with Hassan searing up to 6kg of beef shin on busy service days, before slow cooking it with roasted carrots, onion and celery, and up to three bottles of red wine, port and Marsala, “until it becomes sticky”, and is reduced by half. Chicken stock is then added, and the meat is cooked for a further three hours until meltingly tender.

Once ready, the beef is chilled for service while the cooking liquor is strained to create a rich, glossy sauce.

A chartreuse blend of parsley, lemon juice and zest is prepared separately.

When an order comes in, risotto rice is dry toasted to release the nutty, slightly starchy fragrance which sets the aromatic foundation of the dish. A “splash” of white wine is added and cooked off, before a few ladles of dark chicken stock are added, providing a rich, caramelised flavour. The amount of stock, he says, is a “feeling, it’s not a science. You need to love the risotto as you go along”.

To achieve the risotto’s signature golden hue, saffron is added with the stock, with the quantity varying depending on its origin – Spanish saffron is milder, while Kashmiri saffron is more aromatic.

This is a labour-intensive process with the chef stirring the risotto on a medium heat for 18 minutes. The remaining two to six minutes are crucial for marrying up the elements which Hassan concedes is what “you’ll probably see someone in the kitchen stressing about”.

The risotto is taken off the stove and plated, the sauce and re-seared meat are added on top, with parmesan, two to three frozen cubes of butter for extra gloss, and a drizzle of the parsley and lemon mix to add freshness and balance to the plate.

Hassan clearly holds a deep affection for the dish; perhaps because he doesn’t have a trusted ‘nonna’ to pass down family recipes, he says every dish’s “starting point is always a meal that I have had or a memory that I want to bring”.

This is seen in his vitello tonnato starter, a solidly Turinese dish inspired by his and his Italian sous-chef’s trips to northern Italy. While not a best seller, it’s one “that people love, and they come back for”, he shares.

For this Italian version of surf and turf, thin slices of veal are roasted on a bed of finely diced carrot, onion, celery and white wine, and 2.5kg of chopped Calabria tuna fillet. It is roasted at 180°C until the veal reaches an internal temperature of 48°C, enabling the veal juices to seep into the vegetable tuna bed below.

Hassan then blast-chills the veal to help tenderise it, removing it three hours before service so it can be sliced thinly.

Meanwhile, the tuna and the roasted vegetables become the base of the emulsion; he blends them into a paste before adding an egg yolk and small amount of vegetable oil to create a beautifully silky light texture.

As he plates the dish, Hassan begins with the veal before adding small dollops of tonnato sauce, a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the richness and a scattering of capers.

“Many people are like, ‘why the heck you, you’re putting tuna and veal together? That shouldn’t be working,’ but it does.”

In true Hassan style, keen to champion the underdog, he describes the bunet – a traditional Piedmontese chocolate and amaretti pudding – as the “unsung hero” of the dessert menu.

To make it, he blends amaretti biscuits with eggs, milk and cocoa powder before pouring the mixture over a layer of caramel in a pudding mould. It is then baked in a bain-marie at 180°C for 42 minutes until just set. Once cooled, the dessert is finished with a glossy caramel glaze, crunchy hazelnut praline – made from toasted hazelnuts and caramel – and a generous spoonful of lightly whipped Chantilly cream.

Given all that Hassan has achieved, it may seem unusual that accolades aren’t what he’s chasing. Instead, he claims, the well-being of his staff, precision in the cooking and creating dishes that guests “fall in love with”, are his goals, “rather than any sticker on the wall”.