Saffron risotto with St. Jacob's Scallops

Saffron risotto with green asparagus and St. Jacob´s scallops

Bellevue
Petr Bureš

“This spring, I attended an inspiring fellowship in Italy. I have learned this recipe from Fabio Rossi, a chef of Vitte restaurant where former drug addicts work as part of their rehabilitation program. I liked the recipe immediately. It is not complicated, but at the same highlights all the ingredients.”

Petr Bureš

Preparation takes 20 minutes, cooking about 25.

Serves 4:

300g Arborio risotto
0.5l Chicken consommé
12pcs St. Jacob´s scallops – you can get them in the Seafood shop (http://www.seefood.cz/), and also some Kaufland and Tesco stores where there are fresh fish counters
12pcs Green asparagus
100g Butter
2 spoons Olive oil
a pinch of Saffron
80g Parmesan
0.2l White wine
2pcs Tomatoes

1) Place Arborio risotto in a pan with olive oil. Let lightly fry, sprinkle with white wine and chicken consommé, then add saffron. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, add the rest of chicken consommé and boil until risotto is about done.

2) As soon as the risotto is soft, take away from heat and add butter.

3) In the meantime, prepare tomato concassé. Cut the skins and place tomatoes in boiling water. As soon as the skin starts peeling, quickly cool the tomatoes and take the skins off. Cut tomatoes in halves, clean the seeds and chop the pulp into pieces.

4) Peel fresh asparagus and place it in boiling water for about one minute. Cut the heads off and keep for garnishing. Chop the rest into about 2cm squares.
Tip: I buy the best asparagus at local farmers´ markets.

5) Add parmesan, asparagus, and tomato concassé to soft risotto.

6) Lightly season St. Jacob´s Scallops with salt and pepper and fry in a frying pan with a dash of olive oil until golden brown.

7) Plate presentation: create a bed from risotto (a round one if you like), place St. Jacob´s scallops on top and use lightly browned heads of green asparagus for garnishing.