Ingredients for 4 people
- ½ large brown or white onion
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 300g Carnaroli or Arborio rice
- 1 tbsp. sea salt flakes (or large pinch table salt)
- 2 large pinches saffron strands (c. ½g)
- 40 ml dry white wine
- 2 tbsp. De Nigris Gold Label Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 60g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 70g cold, unsalted butter, diced
For the recipe
Peel and chop the onion finely and set it aside.
Pour the oil into a medium size saucepan, place over a medium heat, add the chopped onions and cook for about three to four minutes, or until they become light yellow.
Add the rice, the salt and a third of the saffron strands, toast the rice for one minute, stirring to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the wine and cook until it evaporates and reduces by at least half, then add De Nigris Gold Label Balsamic Vinegar and continue to cook until it evaporates. Add another third of the saffron pistils and then add stock just until it just covers the rice. Reduce the heat and simmer the rice in the stock, stirring often, from the centre to the outer edges of the pan.
As the liquid reduces, keep adding and reducing more stock and continue to cook the rice, but remember to add only a little stock at a time (and never more than enough to just cover the rice).
Once the rice is ‘al dente’, (meaning cooked, but with a little bite remaining), take it off the heat. Stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and cold butter, then cover pan with a tea towel and leave it to rest for three to four minutes.
Next, beat the butter and the cheese into the risotto, until it is very creamy.
Serve the risotto in bowls, topped with some more grated Parmigiano Reggiano and the remaining saffron strands.
