Saffron risotto cooked in an electric pressure cooker, ready in just a few minutes, without having to stir it constantly, but just as good as the one made with traditional cooking. Believe me, I’ve been Lombard for generations, and risotto is sacred to me. I never eat it at a restaurant unless it’s a guaranteed place because I hate overcooked rice and especially those who call boiled rice tossed with ingredients in a pan a risotto. Even if it can be tasty, it’s not a true risotto. So trust me when I say that cooking it with the Instant Pot makes a really good risotto, as long as you cook it the right way, and here I’ll explain how to do it.
Other risotto recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: serves 4 people
- Cooking methods: Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 12.7 oz Carnaroli rice
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or meat broth)
- 1 shallot
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 packets saffron
- 1.8 oz butter
- 1 glass dry white wine
- 8 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Tools
- 1 Pressure Cooker Electric Instant Pot
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
Steps
Cooking yellow saffron risotto in an electric pressure cooker allows us to speed up this recipe considerably, which usually requires attention and time, as it needs to be continually stirred while cooking.
Bring the vegetable broth, or meat broth if you prefer a stronger flavor, to a boil in a small pot.
In the stainless steel pot of the Instant Pot sauté the chopped shallot with the extra virgin olive oil. Use the Sauté function at medium power. Be very careful not to burn it.
When the shallot is golden, add the rice. Increase to maximum power and sauté it, stirring constantly. After a couple of minutes, deglaze with the white wine, just as you would when preparing risotto in a pot.
Add 800 g. of very hot broth, set aside the rest for when you open the pressure cooker. Also add the saffron, mix well. Gather the grains of rice that have stuck to the sides of the pressure cooker, make sure all the rice is covered by the broth.
At this point, close the Instant Pot with the lid, close the valve, cancel the previous program with the Cancel button, and set the pressure cooking.
Cook the rice for 4 minutes at High Pressure on Normal mode. We like the risotto very al dente, so if you like it a little more cooked, cook for an additional minute.
When the pressure cooking time is over, release the valve, do not let it lose pressure on its own as the rice would overcook.
Open the lid of the electric pressure cooker and check the rice’s doneness and the amount of liquid still present. This will greatly depend on the quality of the rice you use. If there is still a lot of liquid, set the pot to Sauté again and let it evaporate while stirring; conversely, if it’s very dry, add a splash of the broth you set aside.
With the pot turned off, stir in the butter, cold from the fridge, and the grated Parmesan cheese. If you like, you can also add a nice grind of black pepper over the risotto already served on the plate.
My Advice
Prepare extra risotto, as it tastes amazing reheated the next day.
The first time you make this risotto in an electric pressure cooker, I recommend cooking it for 4 minutes and keeping some broth aside to add later for finishing the cooking, then you’ll know how much time your preferred rice needs to be perfectly cooked.
FAQ
Should the broth be like the one I use for regular risotto cooking?
In this case, the broth should be more flavorful than usual because you will add less than you normally use, and consequently, the amount of salt will be less.
