Saffron-Infused Risotto With Crispy Tempeh Chips

A saffron- and seaweed-infused stock brings richness and depth to this velvety risotto. Crisp tempeh shards add texture and a savoury crunch, while roasted aubergine gives the dish softness and depth. It’s warming, golden, and quietly indulgent – the kind of bowl you settle into.

White bowl with bright and colour risotto with tomatoes and herbs, a lemon wedge, some chunks of purple aubergine and thick chunky tempeh chips

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Time required to make the stock 45

Total Time 1 25

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main

Cuisine Italian-ish Simplicity

Servings

Calories 968

Ingredients

Ingredients for Step 1

15 ml olive oil
100 g carrot | unpeeled weight; peeled and chopped roughly
100 g celery | cleaned and roughly chopped; use celery leaves if you have them (great flavour)
100 g brown onion | unpeeled weight; peeled and roughly chopped
1 unit fresh garlic cloves | peeled and bashed
1 pinch salt

Ingredients for Step 2

1 unit bay leaf
1 litre vegetable stock | use gluten-free if required
1 tsp hijiki seaweed
1 tsp dried tarragon

Ingredients for Step 3

400 ml water | approximately this amount, for boiling the tempeh
1 pinch salt
100 g tempeh

Ingredients for Step 4

30 ml olive oil | to fry onion
160 g brown onion | unpeeled weight; peeled and sliced into slender petals
1 pinch salt
125 g fennel | ½ bulb; finely chopped (chop just before you put it in the pan or it goes brown); reserve tops for decoration
125 g arborio risotto rice | you could use Paella rice
200 ml white wine

Ingredients for Step 5

24 g cornflour
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt
2 pinches chilli flakes
15 ml olive oil

Ingredients for Step 6

1 pinch saffron strands
15 ml lemon juice
2 units fresh garlic cloves | peeled and ready to grate
½ tsp fennel seeds
80 g cherry tomatoes | chopped into halves or wedges

Ingredients for Step 7

15 ml olive oil
100 g aubergine | approximate amount; chopped into batons about 1cm thick at the fattest edge
2 units fresh garlic cloves | peeled and thinly sliced
2 pinch salt | small pinches for each side of the aubergine batons
7 ml olive oil
2 tsp fresh thyme | 1 tsp to run through the risotto, 1 tsp to dress the dish

Ingredients for Step 8

1 unit lemon | unwaxed; zest and a neatly trimmed lemon wedge for each plate
2 tsp fresh parsley | chopped
5 ml extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Make soffrito

Heat a medium saucepan over a low heat, add the oil, and add the chopped carrot, celery, onion and bashed garlic. Add a pinch of salt and stir. Cook gently to soften the veggies and to put some colour on them. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
15 ml olive oil, 100 g carrot, 100 g celery, 100 g brown onion, 1 pinch salt, 1 unit fresh garlic cloves

2. Use the soffrito to make the stock

Whilst the soffrito is cooking, make up the stock in a measuring jug, and add the bay leaf, seaweed and dried tarragon.
1 unit bay leaf, 1 litre vegetable stock, 1 tsp hijiki seaweed, 1 tsp dried tarragon
When the veggies in Step 1 are cooked, slowly add the contents of the jug to the pan and simmer very gently for 30 minutes or more. Remember not to simmer the liquid away. Keep a lid on and turn the heat right down. This is an ideal 'make-ahead' job. You could make it and freeze it, or keep it in the fridge until it's needed.

3. Prepare the tempeh 'chips'

Put roughly 400ml of water into a saucepan and add a pinch of salt.
100 g tempeh, 400 ml water, 1 pinch salt
Chop the tempeh into batons and add to the water; simmer for 3-5mins, then drain in a sieve to thoroughly dry the tempeh. The process of boiling and then thoroughly air-drying the tempeh is vital.
Have a read of Step 5 now, so you know what's coming. During Step 5, you will pan-fry the tempeh in oil for a few minutes having coated it in seasoned cornflour, to add some colour and texture.

4. Prepare risotto base

Heat the oil in the Le Creuset on a low heat, add the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook the onion slowly to caramelise the onion
Stir and cook the fennel with the onion for around 5 minutes, until the fennel has softened and the onion and the fennel have slightly changed colour and become a little browner.
30 ml olive oil, 160 g brown onion, 1 pinch salt, 125 g fennel, 125 g arborio risotto rice, 200 ml white wine
Add the risotto rice and stir to coat in the oil in the pan, for 3-4 minutes. It will start to become translucent. See 'Rescue' section in the Notes below.
Add the white wine to deglaze the pan, and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated.
Meantime, prepare the fennel and once you've cut it, immediately add to the Le Creuset. If you don't add it immediately it will turn brown on the edges.
Remember to retain the fennel fronds for dressing the dish.

5. Pan-fry the tempeh 'chips'

Mix the cornflour with the pepper, salt and chilli flakes, and then put the tempeh pieces that you've cut into batons and boiled in Step 3, into the cornflour. Gently turn the tempeh batons in the cornflour to thoroughly coat the tempeh. The tempeh sits fine for a bit in the cornflour.
24 g cornflour, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, ¼ tsp salt, 15 ml olive oil, 2 pinches chilli flakes
Choose a frying pan which has a large enough base for the tempeh to sit in a single layer all at the same time. Heat the oil to medium-hot, and pan-fry the tempeh for a few minutes to add some colour and texture.
Ok, so you want the tempeh to be really crispy and I watched a learner try this for the first time. He was so worried about burning the tempeh that the heat was down too low, so the batons weren't crispy.

6. Add the stock to the risotto

At this point, you need to do Step 5 and Step 6 at the same time.
With the stock pan in one hand, and a sieve in the other, pour some of the stock into the Le Creuset risotto pan. Add the lemon juice and stir. Grate in the garlic and stir. Add the saffron strands and stir. Water is needed to activate the saffron so that's why we add the saffron now, when there is water present.
15 ml lemon juice, 1 pinch saffron strands, 80 g cherry tomatoes, ½ tsp fennel seeds, 2 units fresh garlic cloves
Continue to stir until the stock has gone, and then repeat. Keep adding the stock. You'll see how I do it in the video demo.
When you're adding the final couple of measures of stock, add the fennel seeds. About 2 minutes before the end, add the tomato wedges and 1 tsp of fresh thyme to the risotto. You want the tomato wedges to retain their structure so really do add the tomato right at the end.

7. Cook the aubergine and garlic topping

Towards the end of Step 6, when you're on the last bit of stock, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and tip the pan to spread the oil around the pan. Add the prepared aubergine ensuring that you put the aubergine slices on their sides, and add a pinch of salt. You want to add colour to the sides of the batons.
15 ml olive oil, 100 g aubergine, 2 units fresh garlic cloves, 2 pinch salt, 7 ml olive oil
Fry in this quite dry pan for a couple of minutes and then turn over to colour the other side of the baton for a couple of minutes, again a small pinch of salt
When both sides are coloured and are becoming a little translucent, add the 7ml of oil and the garlic. Stir fry the mix for a couple of minutes and strenuously avoid burning the garlic.

7. Finish the risotto and plate

Spoon the risotto into the bowls, top with the aubergine and garlic and then some tempeh chips. Continue to dress the dish with the chopped parsley and remaining thyme, add a lemon wedge and using the small grater, add the lemon zest over the dish. Add the fennel tops reserved from Step 4. You could get a little cheffy with some extra virgin olive.
2 tsp fresh thyme, 1 unit lemon, 2 tsp fresh parsley, 5 ml extra virgin olive oil

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 968kcalCarbohydrates: 106gProtein: 20gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 31gSodium: 2524mgPotassium: 1413mgFiber: 12gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 10243IUVitamin C: 43mgCalcium: 244mgIron: 7mg

Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.