Gourmet yourself: Saffron risotto with shrimps and green asparagus

This year’s spring is marked with bright colours and taste explosions. In cooperation with Berlin’s KC Lounge and gourmet chef Arne Behnck we invited you on April 12th 2014 to take part in our MIASA Spring Special and enjoy tantalising saffron creations. We are glad that our guests enjoyed the fascination that is saffron!

This week food expert Behnck reveals to you exclusively at MIASA the stunning recipe for his first course: Saffron-Risotto with shrimps and green asparagus. Get inspired and won over by our extraordinary saffron risotto, from the gourmet chef himself, which tips and tricks add that special something to any menu.

Arne Behnck, what is so special about this risotto recipe?

The harmonious combination of creamy risotto, saffron and fresh shrimps – awesome!

 

What to look out for when buying the ingredients for this recipe?

It is imperative to use risotto rice (e.g. Arborio), because, thanks to its starch content, it provides all important and necessary properties for risotto. We strongly advise against experiments with other short-grain rice varieties, as it would inevitably doom the risotto to failure. When buying shrimps, do yourself a favour and do not buy any from aquaculture, as these are quite polluted. To put it in a nut shell: buy high quality products and your taste buds will thank you for it, right?

 

Ingredients for 4 people as appetizers

300g risotto rice
1 small red onion
1l vegetable stock
200ml cream
100g grated Parmesan
Pinch of salt
0.1g saffron threads
Pepper to taste
100ml Crémant for deglazing
Green asparagus as desired
Shrimps as desired

 

Preparation

Preparation is everything!
First, soften the saffron threads in warm water to develop their taste and colour.

Peel the shrimps, clean and devein (unmistakably located on the back) and make roughly 1 – 1.5 centimetre incisions into the head ends; so they are shown off to their full effect later on through the heat of cooking.

Grate the Parmesan. Please note: the finer it is grated, the more intense the flavour is.

Halve the asparagus and wash the rice under cold water, so that it does not stick when boiling.

Finely dice the onion and add to cold fat, oil or butter to sweat. This helps to monitor  when they are just done.

Once the diced onions are golden in colour, add the rice and briefly fry. Continuous stirring right from the beginning is necessary to avoid the rice from sticking or clumping. Due to the risotto rice’s starch content it has the ability to go creamy on the outside but al dente on the inside – which is why it needs to move about throughout the whole process.

After briefly sautéing, deglaze the rice. Behnck uses Crémant here, but wine, Prosecco, water or vegetable stock are suitable as well.

Then add the stock to cover the rice by a finger’s breadth. As soon as all liquid has been absorbed by the rice, add more stock and repeat until all stock is used up whilst keeping it at a medium heat. In the end add the saffron and gently stir in the risotto.

Finally, add the raw shrimps and green asparagus to the risotto and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off for this to stop the risotto from overcooking. The existing heat is enough to gently cook the asparagus and the sea food in the risotto. Shortly before serving, fold in the cream and Parmesan and briefly reheat. Season with a little freshly milled white pepper – and it’s finished.

The appetizers can now be served.

Expert’s wine tip: you absolutely must enjoy the same Crémant, wine or Prosecco, used for deglazing, with this risotto. That way, the harmony stays intact.

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