Risotto Basics Continued:

Part 2: Vegetation or other flavouring components.
    If you are going to use something like mushrooms, always have them pre-cooked before you add them. There are two reasons for this. One is that you don't want to rely on the cooking process of the rice to cook your vegetation, since this would both cool down the pan (thus compromising your finished product) and would fail to guarantee the right doneness. For example, if you properly blache asparagus before adding it into your risotto towards the end of the cooking process, it will stay a vibrant green and retail its beautiful fresh flavour. Letting it cook in the risotto itself will ether leave it semi-raw or else overcook it into that grey-green, canned-tasting stage which is far less than desirable.
    The second reason is that, for things like mushrooms, frying them in a pan beforehand will give you a chance to caramelize them a little, deepening their flavour significantly. You can also add herbs like rosemary, thyme, parsley or oregano to the mushrooms at this stage, adding another layer of flavour to the final dish. Finally, different mushrooms have different cooking times and varying water content, so if you're adding (for example) a trio of oyster, shiitake and crimini mushrooms, cook each type separately before combining them in the final dish.
    You can alternatively add things like a prepared tomato sauce (a truly delicious and simple option), or else something like a red pepper or green pea puree at this stage. Just make sure that you compensate for the extra moisture these things contribute and adjust your addition of broth accordingly.
    Another favorite is saffron. It lends a unique flavour and a deep golden colour to the dish which is vibrant and beautiful on the plate. To make a saffron risotto, you generally want to add it in with the wine. The other way you might approach it is to add the saffron to your broth, making a saffron broth and then add that. This is fine too, but I tend to prefer the first option for two reasons. First, you have the saffron in the pan the entire time the rice is cooking, thereby achieving maximum infusion into each grain. Second, you often have some broth left over at the end of the process, since the amount required to cook the rice can vary. If you make the saffron broth, then, unless you have some other application for it, you risk letting all of that saffron goodness go to waste. Considering the price of the stuff, I wouldn't waste it. Of course, another perfectly good option is to infuse the saffron into about a cup of your broth, making that your first addition after the wine. This too helps to avoid wasting this precious source of deliciousness. Just remember to use a very light touch when using saffron, since a little goes a long way.

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