For Christmas this year, our family flew Amazon-free. Partly because why line Bezos’s pocket any more than necessary, but mostly because we wanted to support Italian producers, artisans, and vendors—those that have been particularly hard hit by COVID. To that end, I put together this year’s Gift Guide to celebrate and promote Umbrian small businesses and instructed Keith to take that list as my Christmas wishlist.

So we celebrated Christmas with ceramic bowls painted in our friends’ Deruta shop, and I wrapped myself in a shawl from Paola’s shop, and I delighted in each page of Letizia Mattiacci’s fabulously festive cookbook. Keith saved my basket from Zafferano e Dintorni as one of my last presents. No wonder, as this one gift was like ten, with jams and jellies and dried fruit and a gorgeous square bottle of hand-picked saffron threads. As I settled my jars back into the basket, Keith jumped up and fetched a bag of humble roots.

“Jerusalem artichokes!”

He said the Marta had insisted he take a bag to bring home to me, along with a list of dishes that the artichoke flavor of topinambur would enhance. My ears pricked at risotto.

Risotto?

Yes! he said. Risotto with saffron and Jerusalem artichokes.

The thought lingered and settled in my brain, like those jars in the basket.

The floral notes from the saffron, with the earthiness of the topinambur. The blend of savory and sweet, deep and bright. Yes, this was worth trying!

I decided this blend of all life’s flavors, dressed in sunshine yellow, would be the perfect way to ring in the new year.

I didn’t have a recipe to follow, so I put the ingredients together based on the flavor I had in mind. I’ll write my basic risotto recipe here with the saffron and Jerusalem artichoke variation, but know if that if you have a favorite risotto recipe, a) I want to know about it, and b) you can use yours, with the addition of saffron and Jerusalem artichokes (sauteed and steamed as described here) tossed in toward the end.

Saffron and Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto

serves 4

Ingredients

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, preferably homemade (we keep a “bone bag” in the freezer where all leftover bones get tossed. About once every week or two I toss those bones in a pot with a roughly chopped onion, a clove of garlic, salt, pepper, a bay leaf and sometimes a stick of celery and/or carrot and let it simmer for a couple of hours. Voila! Broth).
6 Tablespoons of butter, divided
a handful or two of Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed (leave skins on) and diced
a teaspoon of fresh thyme
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 shallot or half a small onion, minced
2 cups carnaroli or arborio rice
1 cup of white wine, like Pinot Grigio (nothing too oaky or fruity), or can substitute more broth here
25 saffron threads, placed in a bit of warm water to allow them to bloom
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a very slow simmer on a burner near where you'll be cooking the risotto.
Heat a pan with a lid over medium-high heat, toss one tablespoon of butter and when it’s bubbling, add in the Jerusalem artichokes and thyme, along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss in a half a cup of water and put the lid on the pan. Shake often. When Jerusalem artichokes are soft, remove lid and cook down remaining water until it’s mostly gone, just a bit of water the consistency of juice. Keep to the side.
Set a wide pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil. When butter foams, add the chopped onion. Saute the onion until it becomes translucent, then add the rice. Stir quickly and thoroughly until the grains are coated well and the grains make a clattering sound when stirred.
Add the wine and cook, shaking the pan, until the wine has cooked off, a few minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add about a ½ cup of simmering broth and stir the rice (enough to cover) , stirring constantly., until all the liquid is absorbed. Make sure when you stir, you continually move the risotto at the side and bottom of the pan so the rice doesn’t stick.
Add another ½ cup, again, stirring constantly. You don’t have to be a maniac about this. Stop and sip your wine and talk to people. It should take about 2-3 minutes for each addition of broth to be absorbed. If it’s going too fast, turn down the heat.
Begin to taste the rice after 15 minutes of cooking. When it is approaching tender, add in the saffron and Jerusalem artichokes along with the next addition of broth.
When the risotto is just this side of perfectly tender, add in the rest of the butter and the cheese, and cover the pan. If your pan doesn’t have a lid, no problem, just top it over with a cookie sheet. Let the risotto recline here for a few moments.
Taste and correct for seasoning and serve promptly, preferably in warmed bowls, as the risotto has a tendency to congeal as it cools, so you want to keep it warm as long as you can.