Risotto allo zafferano
Saffron risotto is one of my favourite dishes. With just a few simple tricks, you'll have a nice and creamy risotto. This risotto is believed to be from the city of Milan, in fact we call it risotto alla milanese ;)
Risotto for 4 people:
100 gr of butter
half a yellow onion (or a shallot)
350 gr arborio rice (you can find this in most stores, regular rice will not work)
200 ml of white cooking wine
150 gr of grated parmesan
900 ml of vegetable stock
Saffron (you can find it in ethnic stores)
Mince the onion very well, keep aside. Warm up the broth in a pot; keeping it always just below boiling point. Mince the saffron and keep in a small bowl.
Take a big skillet and put on low-medium heat. Add 80gr of butter and let it get soft, once the butter is liquid, add the onion and let it cook until it turns golden. Stir the onion with a wooden spoon. Once the onion is translucent, add all the rice and cook it evenly for about 5 minutes, so that it soaks all the butter. Once the rice is soaked with butter, turn the heat to medium-high and add white wine. Cook until the wine evaporates, then take two big ladels of hot broth and pour on the rice. Keep stirring, adding more broth as soon as you see it getting absorbed by the rice. You will use the entire litre of broth and should take 15-20 minutes. Before finishing up all the broth, take a spoonful of it and pour it in the small bowl where you were storing your minced saffron; give it a stir. After 25 minutes of cooking the rice, it is ready to be served. This is a good time to have a small taste, to understand if the risotto needs more salt or if it is salty enough. (Broth is usually salty, so you don't need to add any.) Turn down the heat to low-medium, add the rest of the butter and sprinkle the grated parmesan, give it a good stir with the wooden spoon. Your risotto is ready to be served! Enjoy!
Tips:
You can store leftover risotto in an airtight container for a couple of days maximum. I don't like it as much if it's not fresh.
Make sure that your broth is very hot, otherwise it will slow down the cooking process and your rice won't cook in 25 minutes.
