Saffron Quinoa Risotto with Chicken
The creaminess of a risotto but with quinoa instead of rice: lighter, higher in protein, colored with saffron. Alongside it, chicken fillets marinated separately in herbs and lemon zest and seared hard.
The risotto technique stays the same: hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring until the grain has taken it up.
And so does the step where risotto succeeds or fails — the mantecatura. The cold butter and the cheese go in with the heat switched off. Beaten in over the flame they split into fat and grain instead of emulsifying into that glossy finish.
Rinse the quinoa first, until the water stops foaming: that foam is saponin, and it tastes bitter.
The same grain served cold is the Mediterranean quinoa salad, where the rinsing matters just as much.
Ingredients
- 200 g quinoa, thoroughly rinsed
- 1 small onion, very finely chopped
- 1/2 small green bell pepper, very finely chopped
- 1/2 carrot, in very small cubes
- 1 capsule of saffron, or 12 threads
- Hot vegetable or chicken stock, as needed
- 50 g cold butter, cubed, for the mantecatura
- 100 g grated hard cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Butter for the initial base, as needed
- 1 chicken breast, cut into fillets
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- Zest of 1/2 lemon, for the chicken
- 1 tsp in total of fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary and parsley, chopped
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper, paprika and chili flakes, to taste
Method
- 1
Base: in a medium pan or pot, melt a little butter with a splash of olive oil. Add the finely chopped onion, pepper and carrot and cook gently until soft.
- 2
Risotto technique: add the 200 g of rinsed quinoa and toast it with the vegetables for 1 minute. Add the saffron and start adding the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring, waiting for each one to be absorbed before the next.
- 3
Marinating the chicken: while the quinoa cooks, put the breast fillets in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, chili flakes and paprika. Add the chopped fresh herbs, the sliced garlic and the lemon zest.
- 4
Searing the chicken: heat a separate pan with a thread of oil. Cook the marinated fillets for 3-4 minutes per side over medium-high heat, until well browned and cooked through.
- 5
Mantecatura, off the heat: once the quinoa has taken up almost all the stock, switch the heat off immediately. Add the cold butter cubes and the cheese and beat vigorously. Done over the flame it splits instead of emulsifying.
- 6
Serve the quinoa risotto hot in deep plates, crowned with the golden herb chicken fillets.
Flavors of the Mediterranean: From Our Table to Yours
If one kitchen invites you to sit down at a long table and stay there, it is the Mediterranean. This is our personal selection of dishes that celebrate freshness, sun and good produce: recipes that smell of basil, lemon and sea. Technique in the service of simplicity — and dishes that come out right every time.
