Saffron Risotto Recipe
Author:
Thomas Sixt is a chef, food photographer and cookbook author.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.
Today I’ll show you my vegetarian Saffron Risotto Recipe.
Risotto with saffron is a classic of Italian cuisine and known as Risotto alla milanese.
This risotto pleases the senses and is prepared in less than 35 minutes.
Enjoy it and conjure up a great dish for your guests and loved ones.
Table of Contents
1. Recipe Saffron Risotto
Here you find my step by step guide, I am happy if you cook this dish yourself!
If you have any questions, please use the comment function. Good luck!
Saffron Risotto
Cooked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.
Simple guide for preparing Risotto Milanese.
Preparation Time
15 Min.
Cook Time
30 Min.
Ingredients
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Saffron Risotto: |
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| 1 | pc | onion or 2 shallots geschält (peeled and finely diced) |
| 1 | bunch | Soup vegetables (peeled and finely diced) |
| 2 | tbs | oliv oil |
| 1 | tsp | butter |
| 300 | g | risotto rice |
| 100 | ml | dry white wine |
| 800 | ml | vegatable broth |
| 100 | g | parmesan (or pecorino) |
| 2 | pinch | Salt |
| 0,2 | g | Saffron (2 small letters) |
| 2 | pinch | nutmeg grounded |
| 2 | pinch | Cayenne pepper |
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Decoration: |
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| 1/2 | bunch | Parsley (may be substituted) |
| 1 | tsp | red pepper (may be substituted) |
Instruction
Prepare onions
Die Zwiebel oder Schalotten schälen und fein würfeln, Gemüse schälen und fein in Würfel schneiden.
Prepare vegetables
Sweat vegetables and onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon butter until translucent.
Prepare risotto
Add risotto rice and sweat for 3 min. until colorless.
Cook risotto
Add the dry white wine, vegetable stock, salt, saffron, nutmeg, cayenne pepper to the risotto. Cook the risotto stirring and simmering gently until al dente.
Saffron supplement
Prepare the saffron sauce as desired, see the description in the text above.
Cut some cheese with the peeler wafer-thin and put ready, remaining cheese grate finely and add to the risotto.
Vegan: leave out the cheese!
Season risotto to taste
The risotto final creamy tune, possibly additionally with butter and olive oil creamy stir.
The risotto tastes best when it is not too firm but runs off the spoon.
Arrange the saffron risotto on the preheated plates.
Serve
Add the prepared cheese slices and alternatively add the saffron foam.
Finely chopped parsley or some chervil and red pepper are suitable as decoration.
Video
Cousine
Keyword
2. Nutritional Values
3. The Right Type of Rice for Saffron Risotto
The three well-known risotto rice varieties are called Arborio, Carnaroli and Vialone. Here is a small description:
3.1 Arborio
Arborio is the best known and most widely used rice for risotto.
This rice variety is named after a place in Piedmont.
The rice is recognizable by thick grains about 7 mm long and quite symmetrical.
Arborio Risotto Rice Cooking time: About 16-18 minutes cooking time is optimal for this rice variety.
Conclusion: Arborio is a safe variant and ideal for the guest kitchen.
Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt
3.2 Carnaroli
Carnaroli is called the king of risotto rice varieties.
This trip was crossed in 1945 from the varieties Vialone and Lencino.
The Carnaroli always produces a wonderfully creamy, pleasantly pithy risotto.
The grains are about 7 mm long. Carnaroli does not stick when cooked.
On the plate it offers a great, bright, almost completely white appearance and a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Carnaroli Risotto Rice Cooking time: About 16 minutes cooking time is optimal for this rice variety.
Conclusion: Carnaroli is the rice of top cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi, Italy’s first three-star chef, says:
Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt
“I only use Carnaroli because it gives the risotto more creaminess and keeps it al dente longer than all the others”.
3.3 Vialone
The Risotto rice variety Vialone is little known in Germany. Vialone rice grains are larger and rounder than Carnaroli.
This rice produces a very typical risotto and has the shortest cooking time of the three varieties.
Vialone Risotto Rice Cooking time: About 14 minutes cooking time is optimal for this rice variety.
Conclusion: Try it out and buy it in special shops or bring it directly from Italy.
Tip from chef Thomas Sixt
4. Saffron Threads or Ground Saffron?
You can prepare your saffron risotto with ground saffron or saffron threads.
Experience shows that a mixture is ideal because ground saffron makes the risotto more colourful.
5. Saffron Risotto Base, with or without Vegetables
As a basis for the saffron risotto I use vegetables like carrot, celeriac, parsley root and shallots or small onions.
Cut the vegetables into fine cubes and sauté in some olive oil and butter.
This is a good taste basis for your risotto and you will achieve a natural, tasty depth.
If you want to make it fast, just leave the vegetables out – prepare risotto only with shallots or onion base.
Prepare saffron risotto with vegetables, great taste guaranteed!
Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt
6. Chef Tip for Arranging and Quickly Saffron Sauce
Here are some tips from the catering trade for your perfect saffron risotto…
6.1 Arrange Saffron Risotto optimally
You can arrange the saffron risotto in the classic way as in the picture.
Use a sideboard ring and place it on the warm plate.
Fill in the risotto, it should not be too liquid for this variation.
Decorate with some cheese – I cut the pecorino or parmesan into fine, wafer-thin slices with a peeler!
6.2 Saffron Sauce or Saffron Foam
Towards the end of the cooking time, keep the risotto more liquid with about 200 ml broth and bring to the boil.
Then pass the broth through a sieve into an extra pot.
You can add a few grains of rice to bind the saffron sauce.
Bring the saffron-rice broth to the boil and mix with a cup of cream.
Now refine with salt, pepper, nutmeg and saffron and mix with cold butter until foamy.
Place the saffron foam on the risotto – it looks great and tastes great!
Saffron foam gives the saffron risotto a kick towards starry cuisine!
Foamy sauces tip from chef Thomas Sixt
7. Other Recipes for Risotto
Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers
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