Allegedly the death dish, or at least according to the judges of ‘Masterchef Australia’, except that I beg to differ … if anything the perfect scrambled egg is a far greater challenge, and this week, I am showing you exactly how to handle the making of this dish, including advance preparation and a perfect finish.
The saffron risotto is also known as risotto Milanese, a staple of the city of Milan, Italy, and traditionally paired with an Osso Bucco, i.e. braised veal shank … I personally like this risotto plain, but am giving you the choice of a tiny embellishment – which may or may not work for some – that is a bit of Parma ham in keeping with the Italian identity … the other option is to serve it plain, garnished with some edible gold flakes, and now onto the recipe and making we go …
Ingredients
YIELD: 4 starter plates
- 170g Arborio rice
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 13g unsalted butter plus 30g unsalted butter for finishing
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan
- 4 slices Parma ham or 4 teaspoons edible gold flakes
- ¼ cup white wine
- 4 cups of organic Kallo chicken or vegetable stock (2 stock cubes dissolved in 1 litre of water)
- 1 small red onion finely chopped
- Micro-herbs for garnish
** Please note that I purchase the first 5 ingredients at Defence Store, 38, Defence Colony Main Market, New Delhi 110024. The Parma ham may also be ordered for delivery from Foodsmith Deli, Tel: +91 93508 40401. The micro-herbs and Kallo organic stock cubes are available at Nature’s Soul store, 27, Ground floor, Defence Colony Main Market, New Delhi 110024. The stock cubes may also be ordered online from Amazon, and the edible gold leaf is also available on Amazon.
Method
Gather your first lot of ingredients (see image below) and start by portioning the butter into 2 pieces of 13g and 30g respectively and refrigerate (STEP 1). Using the smallest teeth of the grater, finely grate enough parmesan to fill a ¼ measuring cup and refrigerate (STEPS 2 & 3). Then finely chop your onion (STEP 4), measure out the wine (STEP 5) and 170g of rice (STEP 6).
Above: Ingredients
Now gather the garnish ingredients (STEP 7), and first open up the Parma ham packet, separate each slice down the middle with your fingers, and then continuing with the fingers, gently tear into smaller pieces and scrunch up; you will need 4 to 5 pieces per portion (STEPS 8 TO 11). Transfer the pieces to a plate, cover tightly with cling film to prevent drying and refrigerate (STEP 12). Then soak your micro-herbs in some cold bottled water diluted with apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegar to 4 parts water) (STEP 13), drain and dry on kitchen towels (STEP 14). Refrigerate in a bowl lined with kitchen towel until use.
And now onto the making of the risotto we go. First and foremost, make up your stock by pouring one litre of boiling water over two stock cubes, (either vegetable stock or chicken; I have used vegetable since I am demonstrating both), stir with a fork to dissolve the cubes (STEPS 1 TO 5), then add 1 tsp of saffron threads, stir again (STEPS 6 TO 8), and transfer to a pot which can be placed over heat (STEP 9). Your stock must be kept warm as you gradually add it to the rice.
Place the pot of stock over low heat, and at the same time, take another pot (not a heavy bottom one, since it will slow down the timing) of approximately 9inch diameter and 4inch height, place it over low heat, and melt down the 13g piece of butter (STEPS 1 & 2). Add the onions and briefly sweat, stirring with a wooden spoon (STEP 3), then add the rice and again briefly toss with the onions (STEPS 4 & 5), then add the wine and stir until the wine has been fully absorbed (STEPS 6 & 7).
Now begin adding the stock, initially around 4 ladles ( i.e. 180ml) to cover the rice (STEPS 8 & 9), and let it slowly simmer (DO NOT STIR AS YET), and once nearly all the stock has been absorbed, stir to homogenise (STEP 10), then add another two ladles of stock (90ml) (STEP 11) and repeat, i.e. let simmer until nearly absorbed and then stir. You will keep doing this, until you hit the 25-minute mark, (so please start timing from the moment you melt down the butter) then turn off the heat and at this point your rice will have only a subtle bite, and you will have 215ml stock left (STEP 12). Please note that you must not let the stock come to a boil. If it does, simply turn off the heat and continue the adding process.
Now you can effectively leave the rice for a few hours until you are ready to finish making the risotto to serve; indeed it will all clump together and get sticky, but do not worry. When it is time, turn the heat on low, and stir up the rice over low heat for a couple of minutes to break it up and warm through (STEP 1). In the meanwhile, put the remaining stock back onto low heat too, and once the rice has warmed through, add the entire amount of stock (STEP 2), stir to combine with the rice, and as soon as it comes to the boil (STEP 3), turn off the heat, and add the remaining 30g of butter and the ¼ cup of grated parmesan (STEP 4) and stir vigorously to combine (STEP 5), and now it is ready to plate (IMAGE 6).
Using the ladle, spoon the risotto onto the plates (STEP 7), and using the back of the ladle, gently spread it out to the rim (STEPS 8, 9 & 10) … it will still be wet and therefore easy to do. Then place either the scrunched Parma ham pieces (STEP 11) or edible gold leaf bits (STEP 12) using a tweezer (I simply employ an old skincare tweezer which I no longer use to pluck hair) at regular intervals diagonally across the centre, and garnish in-between with micro-greens …
… and voila, there you have it, The Perfect Saffron Risotto.
Above: Non-veg & Veg Final Presentations