An afternoon Masterclass with Riso Gallo

With Zoom cook-alongs becoming the new pandemic trend, Riso Gallo, one of GM Marketing’s partner brands, invited the team to take part in an exclusive Italian cooking masterclass.

Hosted by Head Chef of the Italian Embassy in London, you may have seen Danilo Cortellini fighting his way to rank among finalists on BBC2’s MasterChef: The Professionals, or more recently on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen brining charming Italian recipes to the main-stream.

Danillo demonstrated to the GM team how to master the techniques of cooking an authentic Riso Gallo Saffron Risotto from Milan.

Russ Barnard, GM Marketing’s Commercial Director commented, “the cook-along with Jason (Managing Director, Gallo UK Ltd) and Danilo was a fantastic afternoon for the GM team. Whilst most of the team are still working from home, this was a great opportunity for everyone to catch up and relax while cooking a delicious risotto dish.”

Why not try your hand at the recipe at home?

Saffron Risotto Recipe

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Categories: Starter

Ingredients:

300g Riso Gallo risotto rice

2g Saffron (pistils of powder)

1litre rich vegetable stock

80g grated Grana Padano

25g unsalted butter

60ml dry white wine

1/2 onion (finely chopped)

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Gently fry the chopped onion in a small casserole dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes on low heat, until golden. Keep to one side.

In a larger pan, start to toast the rice on low heat with a pinch of salt, without adding oil or fat. This way, the heat reaches the core of each rice grain resulting in more uniform al dente rice. Keep stirring the rice, so that it does not catch on the bottom of the pan or burn. When the rice is very hot, pour the white wine in. Let the alcohol evaporate, set the cooking time to about 15 minutes and add the simmering stock a ladle at a time, little by little. Stir the rice occasionally and keep cooking.

Now you can add the cooked onion to the rice.

Halfway through the cooking soak the saffron in a ladle of hot stock and let it dissolve for a few seconds. Now add the saffron-flavoured stock into the risotto and continue to cook, it will progressively become more yellow and flavoursome.

Once the time is up, if you’re happy with the texture remove the risotto from the heat.

The next step is called “mantecatura” – with the right movements you can make the risotto creamier and increase its natural ooziness. Add the grated Grana Padano cheese and butter to the rice. Stir with energy to incorporate extra air until the risotto is nice and creamy. Season to taste and enjoy.