By Gabrielle Hamilton
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus overnight chilling
- Rating
- 4(195)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The Italian kitchen is famous for superior ingredients, and for letting nothing go to waste. This recipe for risotto al salto, which uses leftover, day-old risotto, is a perfect example: You start with a creamy, well-made saffron risotto, then make a crispy delicious cake from it the next day. I’m not the first to notice that many people make more risotto than they need just so they can have extras for this golden perfection the next day.
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Ingredients
Yield:2 to 3 servings
- 4cups chicken stock
- 1tablespoon saffron threads
- Kosher salt
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1small white onion, minced (about ½ cup)
- 1cup carnaroli or arborio rice
- ¼cup dry white wine
- ¼cup finely grated Parmesan (use a Microplane)
- 6tablespoons clarified butter
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
788 calories; 48 grams fat; 28 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 1125 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the saffron threads and a healthy pinch of salt, and continue to simmer, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
Step
2
Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large enameled or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat them, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.
Step
3
Add the rice, and stir to coat with the onion-butter mixture, then add the wine, and continue to stir until the wine is evaporated, about 1 minute.
Step
4
Add 2 cups of the warm saffron-chicken stock, and stir continuously until nearly all the stock is absorbed into the rice, 13 to 15 minutes. Continue adding about ½ cup of stock at a time, stirring constantly until the stock is absorbed into the rice before adding more, until the rice is creamy and tender yet still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (You may not need to use all of the stock.)
Step
5
Remove the risotto from the heat, stir in the Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, then season to taste with salt. Transfer to a lidded container, and refrigerate overnight.
Step
6
Heat 3 tablespoons clarified butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low. Add the chilled risotto, and shape into a thick, even pancake using a heatproof rubber spatula. Cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan often to prevent the rice from sticking, until the underside is lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes.
Step
7
Gently shake and swirl the pan to make sure the risotto pancake isn’t sticking at all and remains intact. Carefully slide it out onto a large round plate big enough to accommodate it. Invert another plate on top of the risotto pancake, and quickly flip the plates so that the crispy side of the rice is now facing up. Remove the top plate.
Step
8
Add the remaining 3 tablespoons clarified butter to the skillet, and carefully slide the rice into the pan, crispy-side up. Cook over medium heat, and continue swirling the skillet until the bottom side is crispy and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
Step
9
Carefully pour off and discard any extra clarified butter, and gently slide the risotto pancake onto a warm serving plate.
Ratings
4
out of 5
195
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Cooking Notes
dogmadgirl
You can make subrics (crispy little rice cakes) with leftover risotto (any kind) - just mix it with egg and then fry spoonfuls in butter &/or oil.
rebecca
I have found that my slow cooker/rice cooker makes excellent risotto with no stirring. I go through step 3 and then add the rest of the stock and wine to the cooker. I follow cooker directions for rice, then continue with step 5 once pressure has come down. Very easy. Now I make risotto frequently.
VGiannini
I grew up eating risotto. My mom did one thing differently, and it’s useful I think. She would ladle the initial dose if broth over the rice, then add the saffron to the risotto pot. In that way any unused stock was good old chicken stock, easily reused for other things. And every precious granule of saffron gets into the risotto. This same technique works with porcini risotto, for another high treat.
speaco*ck23
This recipe is just fine, but if you want it to be really outstanding, substitute veal or beef marrow for some or all of the butter. And I too vote for providing weights for all non-liquid ingredients in all recipes.
Kevin Knox
The risotto recipe here is bizarre. Marcella Hazan's classic version: For 2 cups of rice use a mere 2 tablespoons of onion - more than enough. Saffron: a third of a TEASPOON of strands, chopped and dissolved in a cup of the stock. No Italian cook would squander an entire tablespoon of the costly spice by adding it to a quart of stock, some of which will be discarded. Instead you add the cup of concentrated saffron goodness towards the end of half-hour (not 18 min.) cooking time.
Rie
Do you mean an instant pot/ pressure cooker, because there is no "pressure" that comes down on a slow cooker?
lee
Santa Monica Jack - try Mark Bittman's Pasta Cake. www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/style/dining/the-minimalist-leftover-pasta-reborn-as-a-pie.html
Hopbell
We always had this as an antipasto. I like to serve it with a glass of Spanish dry fino sherry as an apertivo...
Deb
Exact measurements are for baking. For stovetop cooking, better just to have fun with the smelling and tasting. That's what cooking is all about.
Alice Jacobs
Hi Sam,Disregard the angry guy going on about measuring - sheesh*thanks once more for your invaluable book, "Thanksgiving," which makes me relish the week before and the day even more than ever. Fan of yours,Alice
Merrily Jackson
Melissa Clarke has an Instant Pot recipe, "Wild Mushroom, Pea and Pancetta Risotto" that makes a perfect risotto without the stir, stir, stir. Wonder if the same technique would apply to this recipe? Anybody want to hazard a guess?
NancyKelley
Although I would live the rest of my life on the satisfaction of creating a dish like this from scratch by myself - I doubt that I could ever do it justice. I think I'll just order it.
Francesco-in-Umbria
Nothing wrong with the risotto; it's the "salto" part that is not worth the trouble. I had (1) trouble getting the risotto to hold a solid mass, and (2) having it stick to the pan.
Paolo Caimi
Don’t waste your good risotto in this recipe.I make risotto all.the.time. It’s my go to mid range dinner.I Tried this to change what I do with my leftovers. It was a disaster: 1) The rice will stick to the bottom of the pan; 2) the risotto does no coalesce in a “pancake” and 3) you will splatter butter and/or oil all over.You are better of doing any of the following:1. A great risotto frittata2. Arancini (risotto balls, great baked or deep fried)3. Reheat your risotto!4. (Rice salad)
Paula
can you put this in the oven instead of stove top frying?
De Gustibus
I believe the saffron quantity of 1 Tbs is a mistake. A teaspoon seems more likely, or less given the quantity of stock. I also believe leftover risotto should come to room temperature before adding egg and shaping the pancake. Finally, why struggle with a pan sized risotto disk? Make 4” pancakes that you can easily keep from sticking and flip with a spatula. Serve as individual portions.
Kathleen Minder
I do think that 1 Tbsp of saffron threads is too much. Very expensive, and my risotto with that much saffron was somewhat bitter.
Ulfilas
I have to say this recipe was a fail for me - cooking time nowhere near enough, at least at that temperature.
Paolo Caimi
Don’t waste your good risotto in this recipe.I make risotto all.the.time. It’s my go to mid range dinner.I Tried this to change what I do with my leftovers. It was a disaster: 1) The rice will stick to the bottom of the pan; 2) the risotto does no coalesce in a “pancake” and 3) you will splatter butter and/or oil all over.You are better of doing any of the following:1. A great risotto frittata2. Arancini (risotto balls, great baked or deep fried)3. Reheat your risotto!4. (Rice salad)
Albar
As others have mentioned, add the saffron directly to the rice with the first 2 cups of stock - it seems like shame to waste some if you don't use all the stock.
Debbie
“Most recipes call for very little saffron, so you'll often find it sold in packets of 1/16 of a teaspoon or so, and in threads equaling about 1/4 gram or 1/2 a teaspoon. “
Sean Dell
This is a tricky one. My cast iron pans are about as non-stick as teflon, but sticking is a problem here. Shaking the pan breaks the cake. In the end it was slightly informal looking, but tasted great. Hmm..going to have to practice this.. a lot.
Jim Brown
I had some leftover risotto so I decided to try the 'salto' portion of the recipe. No luck. I read the instructions several times and understood what I was doing, I used a nonstick pan and clarified butter, and the risotto stuck immediately. Next time I'll use more butter and start with a somewhat hotter pan to encourage a crust to form immediately. Once again, I bow to the prowess of Italian mothers-in-law and professional chefs.
Francesco-in-Umbria
Nothing wrong with the risotto; it's the "salto" part that is not worth the trouble. I had (1) trouble getting the risotto to hold a solid mass, and (2) having it stick to the pan.
DawnN
Can I double this to eat risotto one night and cakes the next, or is this recipe not tasty on its own? And do I really need clarified butter?
MikeNZ
I've been making risotto cakes the day after I make risotto (often in the oven) for as long as I've been making too much risotto. Now that I see this recipe I want to make it, and right now, not tomorrow.My question is; does sitting overnight do something to the cooked risotto that a half-hour rest wouldn't do? Has anyone made this recipe without the long rest?
Sue Crispin
I agree with Merrily....if you have an Instant Pot, the mushroom, pea, pancetta recipe is the best. And so easy. I think it would make s great risotto cake, but frankly, we never have any left over !!
FHPerkins
We had leftover risotto from Hazans recipe. So I tried this out. I’ve never been very lucky with my riso al salto but all the butter made the difference. It caused the crisp that I had always missed. I’ll definitely make more risotto next time for the day after treat.
ADR
Melissa Clark’s Dinner in an Instant has a Milanese risotto like this. She calls it Saffron Rissoto. I would try that for this.
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