Saffron Seafood Risotto

SEAFOOD RISOTTO

Steps:

• Place water, bottled clam juice, and reserved juice from canned clams into a medium saucepan. Set over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
• In a large pot or deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not let rice brown. Pour in wine, and cook, stirring, until the wine is evaporated. Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth, and stir until the broth is almost all evaporated. Then add another 1/2 cup of broth. Stir in saffron and basil. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until the liquid has evaporated until the rice is almost al dente, about 20 minutes.
• When the inside of the rice is slightly more firm than you desire in the final dish, stir in clams, flaked salmon, and 1/2 cup broth. Stir until the liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup broth, and stir vigorously. Remove from heat before the liquid has completely evaporated.

SAFFRON RISOTTO WITH SHRIMP AND PEAS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine broth, 2 cups water, lemon zest, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, heat a large straight-sided skillet over medium. Swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Add onion, season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until translucent and grains begin to make a popping sound, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in wine and saffron; cook until wine is mostly evaporated, about 30 seconds.
• Ladle 1 cup broth mixture into skillet. Stir with a wooden spoon at a moderate speed until most of broth is absorbed and bottom of skillet stays visible for a second or two as you mix, 2 to 3 minutes. Continue ladling broth into skillet, about 1/2 cup at a time (or enough to just cover rice). Stir slowly but constantly, allowing rice to absorb most of broth before adding more. Risotto is ready when rice is al dente and broth has thickened to a rich sauce, 20 to 25 minutes. (You may not need to use all of broth.) Add shrimp and peas to skillet with last addition of broth; cook until shrimp are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon juice, and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with more cheese and pepper to serve. If the risotto becomes stiff before serving, stir in more hot broth, a little at a time, until it's loose and creamy.

SAFFRON RISOTTO | RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Make beef or chicken stock. When the stock boils, reduce the heat and hold at a gentle simmer covered with a lid. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion.
• In a non-stick pan, simmer half the butter with the onion for 2 minutes on medium heat. Stir from time to time, till the onion is soft and traslucent. Now add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, always stirring, till the grains are slightly glassy.
• add the white wine, stir and let it evaporate, over high heat. Then add the boiling stock. During cooking, the rice must always be covered with stock. Let it cook for about 14 minutes and stir occasionally until ready.
• While risotto is cooking, crush the saffron threads between two sheets of parchment paper. Then dissolve the powder in half a ladle of hot stock. After about 14 minutes of cooking, turn off the heatand add the saffron.
• Add the butter and parmigiano. Stir and serve

RISOTTO MILANESE

Steps:

• Coat a large saucepan generously with olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and sweat them until translucent, about 5 minutes. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, letting the rice slightly stick to the bottom of the pan and scraping it off. It should also sound crackly.
• Add the saffron to the hot chicken stock; the stock should turn bright yellow.
• Add the wine to the pan until it covers the surface of the rice. Season with salt and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the wine has absorbed into the rice. Add the saffron chicken stock to the pan until it covers the rice. Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring continuously until the stock has absorbed into the rice.
• Repeat this process two more times with the hot saffron chicken stock. When the third addition of the stock has absorbed and the rice is very creamy, bite a couple grains of rice to be sure it is cooked perfectly. If it is still a little crunchy, add a little more stock and cook the rice for another couple of minutes. When the rice is cooked perfectly, remove it from the heat.
• Toss in the butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano and "whip the heck out of it." The rice should be creamy but still flow and hold its own shape.

SAFFRON RISOTTO

Steps:

• Heat the stock in a pan over a very low heat - have a ladle at the ready. Melt the butter and olive oil in a high-sided, non-stick frying pan. Add the onion and a large pinch of salt, then cook, stirring, for 5 mins until softened and fragrant but not colouring. Tip in the rice and coat in the oil and butter, cooking for a few mins until beginning to toast. Pour in the wine and cook, stirring, until it's absorbed. Add the saffron and begin to add the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring continually. Add more stock as it's absorbed. After 25-30 mins, all the stock should be absorbed and the rice should be creamy and al dente.
• Add the Parmesan and stir until melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the egg yolk. Season and serve with a peppery rocket salad, if you like.

SAFFRON RISOTTO IN THE PRESSURE COOKER

Steps:

• Soak saffron threads in hot water in a bowl.
• Melt 2 1/2 tablespoons butter in a pressure cooker over low heat. Cook and stir shallot until soft, about 3 minutes. Add rice; cook and stir for a few minutes until rice has absorbed butter and is toasted, about 3 minutes. Pour in wine and allow alcohol to cook off, about 1 minute. Add boiling stock all at once and stir. Close cooker securely and place pressure regulator over vent according to manufacturer's instructions. Increase heat to high. Heat until steam escapes in a steady flow and makes a whistling sound. Reduce heat to low and cook for 4 minutes.
• Remove cooker from heat and release pressure carefully using the quick-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Carefully open once pressure is completely released and stir well. Stir in saffron, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon butter, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
• Let risotto rest for 3 minutes in order to expand, soak up the stock, and absorb flavor. Serve in warmed bowls with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

SAFFRON RISOTTO WITH SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Heat butter in heavy three-quart saucepan. Add onion and saute over medium heat until translucent but not brown. Stir in rice and cook, stirring, until grains turn white. Stir in wine and cook, stirring, for five minutes, until most of the wine has evaporated.
• Meanwhile, place the saffron in a small dish and pour a cup of the hot stock over it.
• When most of the wine has evaporated, stir in a half cup of the stock and adjust the heat so the mixture cooks at a steady simmer. When most of that stock has evaporated, stir in the stock with the saffron and continue to cook, stirring frequently.
• Continue adding stock, about a half cup at a time, stirring frequently, until the rice is just barely tender, about 15 minutes longer. You may not need to add all the remaining stock.
• Stir in scallops. Continue cooking, stirring gently, another three to five minutes, until rice is al dente and scallops are cooked. Add a little stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes; serve at once.

VEGAN SAFFRON RISOTTO

Steps:

• Separate the white and green (light and dark) portions of the leek, and cut each in half lengthwise; rinse well to remove any soil. Roughly chop the green top, and set aside for the stock. Thinly slice the white portion into half circles, and set aside for the risotto. Cut the tops off the fennel, and roughly chop for the stock. Finely chop the fennel bulb, and set aside for the risotto.
• For the stock: Put the wine, leek greens, fennel tops, carrots, celery, garlic, orange peel, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt and peppercorns in a large pot. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the wine has evaporated, 6 to 7 minutes. Add 10 cups of water, and bring to a boil; reduce to a gentle simmer, and cook until the stock has reduced by about one third (7 to 8 cups), about 30 minutes. Strain, then use the back of a ladle to squeeze out any excess liquid from the vegetables; discard the vegetables, and keep the stock warm (or cool the stock and refrigerate for up to 3 days).
• For the risotto: Add a splash of water to the saffron in a small bowl, and set aside to bloom.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced leeks, chopped fennel and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, soy sauce, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and cayenne, and stir for 1 minute. Add the rice, and stir until coated. Add the wine, and simmer, stirring constantly, until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3 cups of the warm stock, the saffron and the blooming water to the rice. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring constantly, until most of the liquid is absorbed, 7 to 8 minutes. Add 3 more cups of stock, bring back to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is tender but slightly toothsome, 10 to 12 minutes more. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the tomatoes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in half the parsley and 3 tablespoons of the nutritional yeast, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Adjust the consistency of the risotto by adding more of the stock as necessary. Pour into a serving dish, and sprinkle with the remaining parsley and 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.

SAFFRON SEAFOOD RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a large skillet, add water and littleneck clams. Steam, covered, on high until first clam opens, about 5 minutes. Add mussels. Continue to steam until all clams and mussels open, another 3 minutes, swirling pan occassionally to keep juices from overflowing edges of pan. Drain clam and mussel juice into a 3 quart saucepan. There should be about 2 cups of liquid. Set clams and mussels aside, covered in skillet, to keep warm. Add chicken broth to clam juice to saucepan. Add saffron. Bring to boil. Add shrimp. Return to boil and cook until shrimp are opaque, about two minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove shrimp to bowl and cover to keep warm. Heat another large skillet over medium/med high heat. Add olive oil. When hot, add onions and cook until translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Add rice and garlic stirring until rice starts to become translucent. Add wine and cook over med heat until absorbed. Add clam/chicken broth mix 1/2 cup at a time until liquid absorbed, stirring constantly. When adding last of broth, add squid, tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Cook until liquid is absorbed and squid is cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp and basil. Stir until well mixed. Meanwhile, in small skillet, sear scallops in butter over med/high heat, about 2 minutes per side until slightly carmelized. Spoon risotto onto plates. Divide scallops, clams and mussels among plates. Serve with wilted baby spinach on side.