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Risotto allo zafferano

Picture is coming soon How it should look like - Now do it better!

I never thought I was going to have to write this recipe! I learnt from my dad when I was eleven or twelve, it is one of the first things I learnt how to cook! But I thought, why not, it can be easily made vegan. The original recipe would have chicken stock, and melt some butter inside before serving. But apart from that, it's still delicious with the alternative plant-based ingredients.

Ingredients (2 people)#

  • Arborio or Carnaroli rice: 180-200 gr
  • Onion: 1 small
  • Olive oil; 3-4 tbsp
  • White wine: 150-200 ml
  • Saffron: enough to make it yellow and tasty
  • Nutritional yeast: 1-2 tbsp, depending on taste
  • Vegetable broth: 3/4 or 1 cube
  • Water: 300-500 ml

Method#

  1. Put the water to boil. You can use a kettle, or if you put it in a small pot on the hob, I recommend half a litre. We will pour a bit at a time, so better to have a bit more than less
  2. Put the oil in a pot and heat up
  3. Chop the onion and put it in the pot on low-medium heat. Leave it until soft (usually around 3-5 minutes)
  4. Add the rice and stir
  5. When the rice starts to stick on the pot, add the white wine. Continue to stir
  6. When the rice has absorbed most of the wine, pour a bit of water and the stock cube
  7. Put a timer of 15-18 minutes (read the guideline on the rice packaging for the exact cooking time). We will need to add water every now and then, when we see that the rice has absorbed most of it. You will keep checking the time, and when there are only a few minutes left, we won't pour any more water
  8. Depending on what saffron's format you're using, the ideal time when to add it to the pot would be different. In the UK, it is sold in its more natural form (like tiny strings). In this case, it will take longer to release the colour and the flavour, so I recommend adding it 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. If you're in Italy though, it's easier to find saffron in powder. In that case, you can add it 5-7 minutes before the end of the cooking time
  9. Once the time is up, take the pot off the heat, add the nutritional yeast, and stir
  10. Now it's ready to be served!

Tips#

It's quite common to eat this risotto with mushrooms or with sausages. Obviously I don't eat sausages, but in the picture above, you will see there are some pieces of "something" in the plate: those are made of seitan and tofu (bought ready-made at the supermarket) that I fried in olive oil and smoked paprika. I did it by chance, just because I had some left in the fridge, but it was a surprisingly good match! I would actually recommend it! Otherwise, mushroom are always a good idea - or even plain, risotto is always a nice comfort food. Enjoy!