Golden Saffron Risotto
In honor of the great chef Gualtiero Marchesi, I have prepared this delicious creamy golden saffron risotto! A recipe gifted to us by Marchesi himself in a video available on YouTube, where he explained that it is essentially a reverse risotto: using the base (a sauté of onion with white wine) to make an acidic butter, which is used to finish the risotto later. A precious and sophisticated risotto, despite its simple preparation, suitable for special occasions and celebrations, such as New Year’s Eve, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter.
Edible gold leaves are easily found on Amazon (see “Shopping Tips” at the end of this article) or in specialized food stores. In any case, the taste of the risotto remains unchanged and delicious, even without the scenic touch of the golden leaves.
If you want to prepare a precious and auspicious all-gold menu on New Year’s Eve, I recommend pairing this risotto with my “Golden Victoria Sponge Cake with Vanilla Glaze“.
You might also be interested in:
Creamy Gorgonzola Risotto with Pears and Walnuts. A refined and exquisite first course
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, New Year's Eve
Ingredients for the Golden Saffron Risotto
- 1.5 cups Carnaroli rice
- 0.7 oz Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
- 0.7 oz Butter (quality)
- 4 cups Meat broth (preferably CHICKEN)
- g Saffron threads
- 2.7 tbsp White wine
- 4 gold leaves (edible)
- to taste Salt
- 1 small onion (around 0.7 oz)
- 2.8 oz Butter (quality, softened)
- 2/3 cup White wine (5 fl oz)
- 2.7 tbsp White wine vinegar
Tools
- High-edged saucepan
- Pot thick-bottomed
- sieve
- Ladle
Preparation of the Golden Saffron Risotto
Take a pot, preferably with high edges, and cook the finely chopped onion in 5 fl oz of white wine and 2.7 tbsp of white vinegar until the alcohol evaporates.
Add 2.8 oz of softened butter to the cooked onion and emulsify, obtaining an acidic butter.
Strain the butter through a sieve to remove onion residues, and let it cool in the fridge for at least an hour.
This acidic butter will be used to finish the risotto and it is important that it is cold from the refrigerator.
Take a double-bottomed saucepan (I used a copper one) and toast the Carnaroli rice in 0.7 oz of butter for a couple of minutes.
Deglaze with white wine and let it evaporate and dry.
Heat the broth.Gradually pour the boiling broth with a ladle, little by little, adding more whenever the risotto tends to dry. Adjust with salt, being careful not to over-salt, considering the broth is already salted.
Towards the end of cooking (about 15-20 minutes), add the saffron and grated Parmigiano.
Do not let the rice dry out too much when adding the acidic butter, it should remain “all’onda,” meaning not too dry, to create a creamy emulsion.Finally, still on the heat, add the acidic butter and a little Parmigiano and stir the risotto for a minute.
Pour the hot risotto onto the plate and add the gold leaves to garnish.
Notes and Tips
Edible gold leaves are easily found on Amazon (see Notes below) or in specialized food stores. In any case, the taste of the risotto remains unchanged and delicious even without the scenic touch of the golden leaves.
Shopping Tips !!!
To cook the risotto, I recommend this thick-bottomed stainless steel pot or the Le Creuset Risotto Evolution Enamelled Cast Iron Pan, ideal for risottos (thanks to its low rim and wide bottom) but also for: stews, pasta sauces, braises, bread. A perfect pan for everyday use, with its wide bottom and low rim, it allows easy stirring during cooking and Le Creuset ensures a uniform heat distribution. This pan is suitable for all types of hobs, including induction and oven.
The edible gold leaves, can be purchased on Amazon.
You can purchase all the items recommended above on Amazon at a great price, just click directly on the corresponding links.
How was Gualtiero Marchesi’s Golden Risotto born?
“The dish was born in 1981 in the then two-starred restaurant on Via Bonvesin de la Riva in Milan. The word to Master Marchesi: ‘I have grown fond of this dish, I even reproduced it on the pin that I wear on my lapel and the more I look at it, the more I realize it needs no explanation. It is so pure, elegant, self-sufficient, that it could always have existed: a small square placed inside a circle, rendered through the perfect chromatic accord and the contrast between the compact surface of the saffron rice and the gold leaf, crumpled by the heat. Yellow on yellow, playing on two tones, one more matte and the other translucent. Composition and matter, all easy, balanced, even obvious.’“ (see here).
