In the cooler months of the year, I like to give in to my cravings particularly for a lovely creamy risotto. I can still remember the first time that I had risotto: it was a Milanese Mushroom risotto. My mum had made it for the first time one Sunday for lunch and we devoured it. It was so creamy and delicious!
I tend to make risotto depending mainly on what vegetables I have in the fridge. The following recipe is for a basic risotto from there you can add any variety of veggies, herbs or meat that you prefer. I have found that it is best to add the more fragile vegetables towards the end of cooking to prevent them from getting over-cooked.
Risotto is great either as a main dish or as an accompaniment.
My Basic Risotto Recipe
a glug of olive oil
1 onion
1/2 leek
1/2 stick of celery
2 cups of arborio rice
2 splashes of verjuice
approx a litre of vegetable stock
3-4 cloves of garlic depending on the size
several pinches of salt
a pinch of nutmeg
20g of unsalted butter
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese - loosely packed
10 small sprigs of fresh thyme
Finely dice all vegetables except the garlic, but peel the garlic at this stage. Aim to dice all the vegetables a similar size to ensure that they cook evenly.
Heat the oil in the fry pan, once the oil is heated add all of the vegetables and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is transparent and the other veg have softened a little.
Add the arborio rice to the pan and cook until the rice becomes transparent.
Mince the garlic and the freshly grated nutmeg and stir through the vegetable/rice mix in the pan.
Splash the verjuice into the pan, it will sizzle a bit but stir it though as it will evaporate slightly and go a little cloudy. This is the starch being released a little from the rice.
Once the verjuice has evaporated, gradually add the stock, a ladle full at a time. Or my version: a little boiling water from the kettle and a couple of teaspoons of stock powder will suffice. You don't need to use a homemade or store bought stock the powdered version is perfectly fine, it is entirely up to you.
Ensure that the stock or water is added gradually, allowing the previous ladle full to be absorbed before more is added. Keep stirring the risotto regularly, keeping the heat low - you don't want to boil the rice. The constant stirring is essential to help massage the starch out of the rice which gives risotto its lovely creaminess. I also tend to add a small pinch of salt each time I add the stock, if you are not sure how salty your stock is, don't add the salt at these regular intervals.
After about twenty minutes or so, check the rice is cooked by tasting it. If is it not ready, keep adding the stock until the rice is cooked. Once cooked, add the butter and the grated parmesan cheese, stir both through until melted. These two ingredients will add a little more creaminess but also flavour to the dish.
Check the seasoning and correct as needed - I find that I tend to need more salt, and add the thyme, stripping the leaves off the stalks. Keep one or two tips for a garnish. Stir this through for even distribution.
My final note about risotto is to ensure that the texture is like runny porridge. I prefer my risotto this way. To ensure that this is the case, I will add a little more stock to maintain this texture.
Serve with a quick grating of parmesan cheese and a sprig of thyme for garnish.
I tend to make risotto depending mainly on what vegetables I have in the fridge. The following recipe is for a basic risotto from there you can add any variety of veggies, herbs or meat that you prefer. I have found that it is best to add the more fragile vegetables towards the end of cooking to prevent them from getting over-cooked.
Risotto is great either as a main dish or as an accompaniment.
My Basic Risotto Recipe
a glug of olive oil
1 onion
1/2 leek
1/2 stick of celery
2 cups of arborio rice
2 splashes of verjuice
approx a litre of vegetable stock
3-4 cloves of garlic depending on the size
several pinches of salt
a pinch of nutmeg
20g of unsalted butter
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese - loosely packed
10 small sprigs of fresh thyme
Finely dice all vegetables except the garlic, but peel the garlic at this stage. Aim to dice all the vegetables a similar size to ensure that they cook evenly.
Heat the oil in the fry pan, once the oil is heated add all of the vegetables and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is transparent and the other veg have softened a little.
Add the arborio rice to the pan and cook until the rice becomes transparent.
Mince the garlic and the freshly grated nutmeg and stir through the vegetable/rice mix in the pan.
Splash the verjuice into the pan, it will sizzle a bit but stir it though as it will evaporate slightly and go a little cloudy. This is the starch being released a little from the rice.
Once the verjuice has evaporated, gradually add the stock, a ladle full at a time. Or my version: a little boiling water from the kettle and a couple of teaspoons of stock powder will suffice. You don't need to use a homemade or store bought stock the powdered version is perfectly fine, it is entirely up to you.
Ensure that the stock or water is added gradually, allowing the previous ladle full to be absorbed before more is added. Keep stirring the risotto regularly, keeping the heat low - you don't want to boil the rice. The constant stirring is essential to help massage the starch out of the rice which gives risotto its lovely creaminess. I also tend to add a small pinch of salt each time I add the stock, if you are not sure how salty your stock is, don't add the salt at these regular intervals.
After about twenty minutes or so, check the rice is cooked by tasting it. If is it not ready, keep adding the stock until the rice is cooked. Once cooked, add the butter and the grated parmesan cheese, stir both through until melted. These two ingredients will add a little more creaminess but also flavour to the dish.
Check the seasoning and correct as needed - I find that I tend to need more salt, and add the thyme, stripping the leaves off the stalks. Keep one or two tips for a garnish. Stir this through for even distribution.
My final note about risotto is to ensure that the texture is like runny porridge. I prefer my risotto this way. To ensure that this is the case, I will add a little more stock to maintain this texture.
Serve with a quick grating of parmesan cheese and a sprig of thyme for garnish.
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