Saffron risotto with grilled salmon and zucchini

This saffron risotto with salmon and zucchini is a simple and impressive dish. It’s quick enough to make for a weeknight dinner but you can also serve it for a special occasion. I paired this saffron risotto (risotto alla Milanese) with fish – this saffron-flavored rice works especially well with salmon. Grilled zucchini adds crunch and more color to the dish.

Saffron risotto (risotto alla Milanese)

Saffron risotto, or risotto alla Milanese in Italian, is a simple risotto made with saffron and parmesan cheese. It comes from the city of Milan and the surrounding region of Lombardy. It has a beautiful bright yellow color, an unique flavor and makes a great side dish to serve with fish or seafood.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this dish:

1. Fish – I used salmon. Its flavor works perfectly with saffron and its color looks beautiful on the bright yellow rice. You can use any other fish, also white-fleshed fish like cod or halibut.
2. Zucchini – crunchy side dish adds another texture to the dish.
3. Saffron risotto – beautifully-hued bright yellow rice side dish.

To make saffron risotto you will need:

• Saffron – there is no substitute for this spice, it has a pretty unique flavor, but you can just omit it and make a simple parmesan risotto if you don’t have it on hand. If you want just bright yellow color for your risotto, you can add a pinch of turmeric.
• Rice – you need to use risotto rice, like arborio or carnaroli rice. Other rice varieties are not suitable for this recipe! These rice types have a lot of starch on their surface, which makes the risotto creamy.
• Cheese – add grated Parmesan cheese for a milder flavor or if you like sheep’s milk cheeses you can add pecorino. I really like it with pecorino cheese.
• Broth – you can use vegetable or chicken broth. Water with good-quality bouillon cubes will also do!
• Shallots – you can use small onion instead. I prefer shallots because of their mild flavor and soft texture, they also cook quicker.
• Garlic – must be fresh!
• White wine – just use any white wine you like to drink. It must be a dry wine – it needs to balance the richness of the risotto. If you don’t have wine on hand or you don’t cook with wine, you can easily substitute it with broth and a small amount of lemon juice to taste.

What is saffron?

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Saffron is made of the threads (stigmas) of the saffron crocus flower. For each gram of saffron, 200–600 hand-picked threads are needed, which means that up to 200 flowers are needed for each gram of saffron. The good news is, just a little goes a long way so you only need a pinch of saffron for this recipe! An important thing when using saffron – always dissolve it in some liquid (for example broth). If you add the threads directly to this dish – the risotto won’t be uniformly colored and rather dull yellow than bright yellow.

How does saffron taste like?

Saffron has a floral, earthy, strong flavor. For me, it tastes a little bit like honey and eggs. It’s hard to describe so you just really have to try it to find out if it’s for you! I must admit, I wasn’t a fan of it at first, but then I got to like it! You can read more on saffron here.

Step by step instructions

STEP 1: Add the saffron and broth into a medium pot and heat until very hot, then leave it on the burner over low heat to keep it hot.

STEP 2: Heat the oil in a medium/large pot, add the shallots, cook over low heat for about 2-3 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.

STEP 3: Add the rice and cook over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes. All rice grains should be coated in oil and their edges should be slightly translucent.

STEP 4: Add the wine and cook until it’s almost evaporated.

STEP 5: Add the first portion of the broth – about 1/4-1/3 cup.

STEP 6: All the rice grains should be covered with broth, make sure there are none left on the sides of the pot. Let the rice cook in the broth without stirring.

STEP 7: It will start to look a little bit dry.

STEP 8: When this happens, start stirring constantly until almost all the liquid is evaporated. Add the next portion of broth and cook the rice as described until the rice is cooked through but still has a little bit of bite to it (is cooked al dente). The whole process of adding broth and stirring can last about 20-25 minutes. You can use more or less broth than I did, it all depends on the burner’s heat.

STEP 9: Add the Parmesan cheese, stir until combined and melted.

STEP 10: Take the pot off the heat and season your risotto with salt and pepper to taste. The risotto should be creamy – it shouldn’t be too runny but it also can’t be too thick. If you run your spatula through the risotto, it should flow slowly to fill in the space.

While the risotto is cooking – grill the salmon and zucchini on the grill pan (you can also cook them in a regular pan).

STEP 11: Season the zucchini with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat and grill the zucchini slices for about 2 minutes on each side until browned. Don’t overcook the zucchini, it should be still crunchy.

STEP 12: Heat another tablespoon of oil, cook the salmon over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side, until the fish is cooked through (to your preferred doneness).

Safe cooking temperature for salmon: cook it to 145°F (63°C) or cook until flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork.

Serve the salmon with risotto and zucchini.

Enjoy!

How to serve it:

This flavorful saffron risotto pairs perfectly with fish, seafood, or chicken. I like to serve it with grilled salmon and zucchini like shown in the photos, but there are more delicious options for you to try:

• pan-seared or grilled white-fleshed fish like halibut or cod
• pan-seared shrimp or scallops
• baked lemon thyme chicken breast
• whole roasted trout
• parmesan mayo chicken
• simple green salad with vinaigrette

Tips for the best risotto

• Keep your broth hot all the time while the risotto is cooking. Adding cold broth to the pot will result in a longer cooking time, as the broth will need to be brought to a boil each time.
• Serve your risotto on warm plates. The best risotto should flow off the spoon like a wave. When it gets cold, it loses this consistency. It’s best to serve it straight from the pot and spoon it onto warm plates. You can warm your plates in the oven – just keep them a few minutes in the oven preheated to 210°F/100°C.
• Don’t overcook your risotto, the rice grains should still have a bite to them!
• Stir the risotto often, but not too oft (it will cool the rice), that’s why I like to cook it submerged in broth for a while and then when it gets a little bit dry – stir stir stir! Make sure your rice doesn’t stick to the pot.
• Don’t add too much broth at once – 1/4 cup to 1/3 is perfect.

No-stir risotto

There is an alternative preparation method of this risotto, popularized by a well-known chef Kenji Lopez-Alt. It’s a no-stir risotto, which saves a lot of your time, but it is slightly less creamy than the traditional recipe (in my opinion). You will need only 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) broth when making risotto this way.

Here’s how to do it:

• Add rice to the broth and stir several times with a spoon, strain through a fine-mesh strainer, then reserve the broth (!). Add the saffron to the broth. Cook the onion, garlic, rice, and wine as described in the recipe.
• Add the broth (it can be cold), stir well, bring to a boil, cover the pot, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked through.
• Remove the pot from the heat, add the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste, serve.

Storing and reheating:

Risotto reheats very well. It will be thicker so add a splash of broth or water to dilute it. Keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.

More risotto recipes:

• pear risotto with gorgonzola (my favorite!)
• lemony asparagus risotto with peas
• a twist on classic risotto: buckwheat risotto!

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!