Saffron risotto with roast tomatoes

This dish is inspired by Adam's travels eating risotto Milanese in Milan, Italy. He had it served with prawns but wanted to enjoy a vegetarian version.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 1½ litres vegetable stock
• 2 large pinches saffron threads
• 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 440 g (2 cups) risotto rice (vialone nano, arborio, or carnaroli)
• 125 ml (½ cup) white wine
• 50 g butter
• 100 g (1 cup) grated pecorino or parmesan, plus extra to serve
• salt and ground black pepper, to season
• 1 tbsp finely shredded parsley, to serve

Roasted tomatoes

• 8 tomatoes, halved
• 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
• salt, to season

Smoked paprika butter

• 50 g butter
• ½ tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

1. For the roasted tomatoes, preheat the oven to 220˚C. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until well roasted.
2. Meanwhile, place the stock in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, then add the saffron. Turn off the heat, cover and stand for 10 minutes for the saffron to infuse.
3. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil and onion. Fry the onion for about 3 minutes or until translucent, then add the garlic and fry for another minute. Add the rice and stir to toast in the oil for about 1 minute, then add the wine and stir until absorbed.
4. Add about one third of the hot stock and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed. Repeat two more times for the remaining two - thirds of the stock, stirring occasionally throughout the cooking time, which should take about 20 minutes. Taste the risotto and season with salt as needed (remembering that the cheese that you add will be salty, too). When the risotto is cooked, the grains should still be separate and al dente. Adjust the amount of stock added towards the end so that the risotto is still a fluid and settling in the saucepan when stirred, not clumping.
5. Stir through the butter and pecorino to emulsify the risotto to a creamy texture. The final texture of the hot risotto should still be quite soft and fluid so that it spreads easily on a plate if you tap the bottom of the plate.
6. For the smoked paprika butter, place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is foaming, stir through the paprika and remove from the heat.
7. Divide the risotto among shallow serving plates, top with a few pieces of roasted tomato and drizzle with the smoked paprika butter. Scatter with extra pecorino, pepper and parsley to serve.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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