Saffron Risotto

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Great comfort food to share with family and friends!

Recipe moderator note — while this recipe doesn’t call for brown rice, it can be made with it! Judith Finlayson, author of The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook: “I have had very good success making risotto with short-grain brown rice; for best results you soak it for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.  I buy the rice in bulk at my neighborhood health food store so other than being short-grain and brown, I can’t tell you anything about it.” Her book features two risotto recipes: Brown Rice Risotto (page 229) and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto (page 232). This is also an opportunity to highlight our article Living With Phytic Acid: “The ideal preparation of rice would start with home-milling, to remove a portion of the bran, and then would involve souring at a very warm temperature (90 degrees F) at least sixteen hours, preferably twenty-four hours. Using a starter would be ideal (see sidebar recipe). For those with less time, purchase brown rice in air-tight packages. Soak rice for at least eight hours in hot water plus a little fresh whey, lemon juice or vinegar. If you soak in a tightly closed mason jar, the rice will stay warm as it generates heat. Drain, rinse and cook in broth and butter.”

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 6 garlic gloves
• 1 stick  butter (organic, pasture raised)
• 2 cups Carnoroli rice
• 6 cups chicken broth (organic, pasture raised)
• 1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
• Few sage and basil leaves
• 3 egg yolks (organic, pasture raised)
• 1 cup grated parmesan or aged cheddar
• 1 cup heavy cream (organic, pasture raised)
• 1 teaspoon saffron powdered in mortar with 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• White pepper

Instructions

1. Chop the shallots and garlic finely.
2. Heat the butter, the shallot and garlic mixture in a enameled cast iron pot, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
3. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of butter.
4. Heat the broth in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.
5. Put a ladleful of the broth into the rice and keep stirring until the broth is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente.
6. Mix the lemon zest,  the sage and the basil into the risotto.
7. In a small bowl mix the egg yolks, lemon juice, Parmesan, saffron/salt mix, cream and pepper.
8. When the risotto is ready, when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite – take it off the heat and add the bowl of egg yolk mix.
9. Serve with more grated parmesan.

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