Saffron baked rice with ham and cheese, a delightful and easy rice timbale.
Rice bakes such as Baked rice with ragù or Baked rice with spinach are my passion and my children and husband go crazy for them. I love making them in countless ways and I always change the main ingredients with the seasons, but today I want to share with you my quick version of a parmesan and saffron rice bake, rich with ham and melting cheese — the perfect recipe for autumn risottos or an amazing winter risotto, and also a dish suitable for spring and large picnics. This recipe is truly practical and quick, perfect to make the whole family happy with very little effort and it will disappear from the table in a second!!
Are you ready to join me in the kitchen? Let’s go and discover how to make saffron baked rice — it’s so delicious. Before heading to the kitchen, if you want to keep up with all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups risotto rice (for risottos (about 650 g))
- 1 white or yellow onion (medium)
- 2 tbsp butter (about 30 g)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- About 2 cups milk
- to taste vegetable broth (or water, about 6 1/4 cups (1.5 L))
- 1 cup grated Parmesan (or Grana Padano (about 100 g))
- 5.3 oz cooked ham (about 150 g, chopped)
- 10.6 oz provola (or other melting cheese (about 300 g), diced)
- 1 sachet saffron
- to taste salt (only if using water)
Tools
- Baking dish glass or ceramic baking dish for 6 servings (approx. 13.8×9.1×2.4 in)
- Pot
Saffron baked rice with ham and cheese: preparation…
Chop the onion and let it soften in the oil and butter, then add the rice and toast for one minute, stirring often.
Add all the warm milk (the milk makes everything creamier) and let it be absorbed.
Add the hot water or broth little by little, remembering to season with salt in the first case.
When the rice is still very al dente, off the heat dilute with more broth or water to avoid it being too dense and add the saffron. Stir and season with almost all the grated cheese.
Half of the diced melting cheese and half of the chopped cooked ham.
Stir well to combine.Pour half of the rice into a baking dish suitable for 6 servings, spread almost all the remaining sliced cheese and the ham on top.
Cover with the remaining rice, scatter a few more slices of cheese and a handful of grated cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes in a convection oven at 356°F.
Remove from the oven, let it rest a few minutes and serve hot and gooey.
If eaten right after coming out of the oven, the rice will be creamy and melty, not overcooked.
If you let it rest longer, it will take on the consistency of a timbale, absorbing all the liquids. Either way, it will still be a great dish to bring to the table, perhaps for a picnic.
Store any leftovers in the fridge, well covered in an airtight container, and consume within 24 hours after reheating.
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