Risotto

...or rice, chicken and peas as it’s known in our house. This is an almost weekly meal in our house. Depending on the season, it varies slightly, but the essence of it stays the same.

Ingredients

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids

1 tbsp olive oil

Bacon or pancetta

1 onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove chopped

1 stick of celery chopped

4 mushrooms

Risotto rice, 6 handfuls

½ glass of white wine or splash of vermouth

Chicken stock

Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp

Butter

Optional ingredients, depending on your mood or the season. Chicken, prawns, asparagus, broad beans, parsley, fine beans.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Brown the bacon or pancetta. Before it becomes too browned, add the onion and celery and soften. Add the garlic and continue to cook gently. You don’t want the garlic to brown. At this stage, as you can smell the garlic gently cooking, add the mushrooms with a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat up slightly. Sauté the mushrooms until they begin to soften (you will see them beginning to release moisture). Keep the heat on roughly medium. Add the 6 handfuls of rice. Stir the rice around in the hot pan. The idea is that the outside of the husk will begin to soften you may be able to see it becoming less opaque. This will take a minute or so then add the wine or vermouth. Let it bubble away, stirring. Now you begin to add the stock. Making risotto is a relaxed thing. Don’t think you have to stand at the hob slavishly stirring. What you need is your hot stock next to your pan and add a ladleful, stir & leave. I use this time to prepare the other ingredients that need to go in. Keep popping over to the risotto to ladle and stir, adding a ladleful of stock when the last lot has been absorbed by the rice. Watch the heat also. Too high and the outside of the rice will cook too quickly. Too low and it won’t cook through. Your risotto should bubble gently.

After 20 minutes your risotto is nearly done. At this stage add your optional ingredients. When they are cooked or heated through, check your risotto for liquidity and seasoning. Risottos need to be loose, not dry. Its not a soup, but if you tip the pan it should gently move. Turn the heat off, add the butter and parmesan and put a lid on the pan. Now just leave it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir and check the seasoning again and serve.