Risotto with mushrooms, bacon and saffron

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 10 g dried porcini mushrooms or 100 g fresh porcini mushrooms
• ½ onion(s)
• 20 g butter
• 160 g risotto
• ½ jar white wine
• 1 liter broth, boiling hot or hot water
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 70 g pancetta, alternatively bacon or smoked pork belly (bacon)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, cold squeezed
• 1 sprig(s) parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pinch(s) of pepper
• 30 g Parmesan, freshly grated
• 10 g butter
• 1 small can of saffron

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Risotto with mushrooms, pancetta, and saffron. A popular recipe from Lombardy.

Pour a little hot water over the dried porcini mushrooms in a cup and let them soak for about 1/2 hour. Thinly slice the fresh mushrooms. Finely chop 1/2 onion. Heat 20g butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion. Add 160g risotto rice and sauté for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Deglaze with 1/2 glass of white wine and let it evaporate, stirring occasionally. Add a ladle of stock. Add a little more stock from time to time to create a porridge-like consistency and cook the risotto until al dente, depending on the type of rice. Meanwhile, finely chop 1 clove of garlic and 70g bacon. In a second saucepan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté the garlic and ham for a few minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the soaking water. Finely chop 1 sprig of parsley and add it to the bacon mixture along with the mushrooms, and sauté for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the soaking water or a few tablespoons of stock and simmer gently with the lid closed over low heat until soft. Place 1 sachet or 1/2 tin of saffron in a cup and dissolve it in a few tablespoons of stock. 5 minutes before the end of the risotto’s cooking time, stir 1 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, the dissolved saffron, and the mushroom mixture into the rice. At the end of the cooking time, stir in 30g of Parmesan cheese and 10g of butter, remove from the heat, and let rest with the lid closed for 1 minute before serving. A risotto specialty from Lombardy, similar to the famous Milanese risotto (called ‘risott giald’ in the Milanese dialect). However, many people in Lombardy, especially in Brescia, firmly claim that their recipe is the older one. In Lombardy, this risotto is available in many different versions: with or without ham, mushrooms, or even with salsicce (= sausage). The basic ingredients are always white wine, saffron, and Parmesan cheese. If the risotto is made with sausage instead of bacon, skin it and break it into pieces with a large-pronged fork while frying.