Classic Risotto

Ingredients
For the Risotto:
5 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
1 pinch saffron threads, optional, see Notes
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup finely chopped white onion, approximately 1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1½ cups dry risotto rice, unrinsed, see Notes
½ cup dry white wine, or water
1 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter, softened
⅔ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, at room temperature
To Serve: ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, at room temperature

Instructions:
Place large saucepan on stovetop over high heat. Add 5 cups chicken broth to saucepan and bring liquid to rolling boil. Once stock begins to boil, immediately reduce heat under saucepan to low. Note: keep saucepan of broth warm over low heat throughout entire process. Transfer 1 ladle (approximately ½ to ¾ cup) of chicken broth to small bowl. Add 1 pinch saffron threads to reserved broth and set bowl aside. Place second saucepan on stovetop over high heat. When saucepan is warm, add 4 tablespoons butter and allow butter to melt completely, tilting and swirling saucepan as needed to distribute butter. Once butter has melted and begins to foam, add 1 cup finely chopped white onion and stir to incorporate onion into melted butter. Sauté onion 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
When onions begin to soften, add 2 cloves garlic and stir to incorporated. Continue sautéing until onions and garlic have softened, approximately 1 minute. Note: do not brown onions or garlic. Add 1½ cups dry risotto rice to saucepan with onions. Cook rice 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until rice appears golden and translucent. When rice is ready, pour in ½ cup dry white wine and stir to incorporate, making sure to scrape up any bits of onion, garlic, or rice that may have stuck to bottom of saucepan. After deglazing saucepan, reduce heat under saucepan to low and allow mixture to simmer until liquid in saucepan is mostly reduced. Once liquid has reduced, add 1 ladle of warm broth from saucepan, entire bowl of saffron-infused stock, 1 teaspoon salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to rice mixture. Gently stir ingredients together until liquid has been fully absorbed into rice. Continue adding warm broth in small increments, stirring after each addition until rice has completely absorbed liquid before adding more. Stir mixture constantly until all stock has been added to rice and fully absorbed. Once all broth has been added and fully absorbed, risotto should be golden and creamy, with tender (not mushy) rice. Note: process can take 20 to 25 minutes. Do not rush! Remove saucepan from heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter and ⅔ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and gently stir mixture until butter has melted completely. Taste risotto and adjust salt and pepper as desired. Divide risotto evenly between serving plates (or bowls), top with remaining ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, and serve hot.

Recipe Notes:
– Saffron: The saffron is optional, but highly, highly encouraged! It gives the risotto a rich flavor and a gorgeous golden color. A “pinch” of saffron threads could be anywhere from 5 threads to 50, just depending on your personal tastes. A little goes a long way, so I recommend using 5-10 to avoid overpowering the rest of the dish.
– Risotto Rice: Arborio rice is the most common rice for risotto, but you could also use a short-grain sticky rice. Also, don’t rinse the rice before cooking it. You want that starch to make the risotto creamy.
– Make sure the chicken broth stays warm the whole time. If you add cool broth to the rice, you’ll stop the cooking process with each ladle.

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