Risotto relaxation.

This week my teenage daughter has been seriously in my good books.  I came home from work on Wednesday to a delicious smell and she and her friend were halfway through making the seafood risotto I had planned for that night's meal.  I've mentioned risotto in my Meat Free Monday post, but I thought it deserved a post all of its own, because it is my all time favourite thing to cook. 

Lots of people think all that stirring is boring but I LOVE it, it's as if all the cares and stresses of the day melt away as the spatula goes round and round in the pan.  And as you usually have to add a glass of wine to it, it's only right to have a glass to sip whilst cooking it. I always find that it takes longer than it says in the recipe for it to be cooked properly, you have to keep on trying a few grains to see if that chalky texture has gone.  In the words of the wonderful Nigel Slater (reading his books always inspires me to write a blog post, and the following quote was actually referring to lamb shanks but I think it applies equally to risotto): "Of course, modern cooks demand a recipe that is done in the time it states, but.... we must enter a different mindset, one where something is done when it feels like it, not when a recipe says it should be."  I think it is the hob setting that influences it, the stock needs to be absorbed by the rice, rather than boiling so firecely that it just evaporates off.  On masterchef they always say that a risotto is an easy option, and doesn't show much skill, but the ones who do cook it always seem to get it wrong!

The first risotto I ever made was the classic risotto primavera, "the risotto of spring" with spinach, peas and asparagus.  I love spring and greens, so it was the ideal recipe for me.  Since then (OCD counting things alert!!) I've made another twenty five different risottos, pretty much all successful apart from the sausage, radicchio and red wine one which was a complete waste of the wine!  We ate the sausage out of it and the rest was consigned to the food waste bin.  The radicchio is just too bitter for all of our tastes, even when cooked in this way. 

Favourites have included broad bean & bacon; mint & prosciutto; salmon & mange tout; smoked fish with a poached egg on top; chorizo, squash & pea; asparagus & lemon, risotto nicoise with fresh tuna, green beans & black olives; leek, goats cheese & crispy bacon; prawn, squid & samphire and jerusalem artichoke with fennel seeds.

There is so much scope for variety, just soften a chopped onion and some garlic in butter, olive oil or a mixture of both, coat the rice with it until glistening, throw in a glass of wine or vermouth (and savour the most amazing smell!) add stock ladle by ladle as it becomes absorbed by the rice, plus your choice of whatever you fancy.  When done, add cheese, usually grated parmesan (unless it is a fish risotto), leave to stand for five minutes and serve.  I sometimes like to top it with something, such as in my favourite ever risotto, caramelised carrot.  Very simple, but when topped with homemade hazelnut and watercress pesto it is taken to a new dimension.

I don't seem to have many pictures of risotto - in a way they're not very photogenic, but here is the beetroot and gruyere one, which IS, as you can see:

This one is spinach and dolcelatte (not a great photo as taken with my old phone):

The better the stock, the better the risotto.  Home made is best, I once made a duck stock from a five spice roast duck and used the stock and the leftover meat in the risotto with soya beans for an oriental twist.  I always freeze chicken carcases when we have roast dinners and make stock with five at a time in a massive pan I got from Ikea.  When boiled the stock can be frozen and used at a later date. I also make stock with the Christmas turkey bones. If home made stock isn't available then I use Knorr stock pot, little jelly pots that you add to boiling water; or oxo liquid stock concentrate.  But at the end of the day you can always use cubes and it will be just fine.

What to do with leftovers has never been an issue for me as we never seem to have any!  But I know people who have made is into cakes and fried it, with or without a breadcrumb coating.  If you do want to reheat it, even the same evening, you will need to add some boiling water to loosen it up a bit. Nice when dipped in sweet chilli sauce.... the staple condiment which inspired my next blog post. I'm halfway through writing it and will publish soon.

Until then, thank you for reading,

Caroline :-)