I love how versatile ‘risotto’ is: you can virtually add anything you want to it! This version with saffron is traditionally from Milan, hence the name alla Milanese. To add variety to this amazing dish, you can also add sausage, mushrooms or caramelized onions. All perfect pairings! Also, you can check out my risotto with pumpkin here.
When making risotto, the quality of the rice speaks to itself: you would never use sushi rice to replace basmati rice, so the same rule applies here! Nowadays you can find rice for ‘risotto’ (see ingredients list for the recommended varieties) in most supermarkets.
Cooking: as first thing, we need to ‘toast’ the rice to help preventing it to become too mushy. Let’s not go there. Also, for the best results, you want to cook your risotto on a gentle heat for longer times. If you are in a hurry, speed up the process by keeping the heat a bit higher. Just make sure to keep stirring it and eventually adjust the stock volumes as it might get absorbed/evaporate more quickly! And at the end, we do the so called mantecatura where you add butter to give your dish that extra creamy and soft final touch.
The saffron, real star of this dish: did you know that this powder was originally used as coloring for paintings, garments and such? Nowadays it’s used in several cuisines to give that distinct flavor and dazzling golden color. You can find saffron in pistils (more common) and powder (less common, at least here in NL). If you can, like me go for the powder because it’s stronger in flavor (and coloring!).
The broth: if you can, use a freshly made stock. You can use good quality stock cubes but, especially with the vegetable ones, it won’t be as rich. A good trick for that is to use bone marrow instead of oil at the beginning – extra fat for extra taste!
For a dairy free version, just omit the butter and the cheese, or add dairy free alternatives! 😊
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