I have fond memories of a delicious risotto that my mum used to make every now and then. Ever since I moved out of home, it's something that i've been dying to try!
I found Jamie Oliver's basic risotto recipe online that I used as a base, adding and omiting ingredients.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with the outcome. It could have been a complete disaster seeing as it was my first experience! It was quite flavoursome, but I still think it was missing something...mushrooms maybe?
Jamie's basic risotto
Ingredients
1 litres chicken stock
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ a head of celery, finely chopped (I omitted)
400g aborio (risotto) rice
2 wine glasses of dry white vermouth or dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g butter
115g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ a head of celery, finely chopped (I omitted)
400g aborio (risotto) rice
2 wine glasses of dry white vermouth or dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g butter
115g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method
stage 1Heat the stock. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and butter, add the onions, garlic and celery, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
stage 2
The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.
stage 3
Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
stage 4
Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.
stage 2
The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.
stage 3
Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
stage 4
Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.
My additions:
* I added one chopped onion in with the onion.
* I used 600g chopped chicken breast to the risotto. Cook chicken in a pan until it is just cooked through and add to the risotto at the last minute to ensure it stays moist and tender.
* I added peas when I added the chicken - just because that's what mum used to do!
Hot chicken stock and onion and leek mixture
Adding spoonfuls of chicken stock to the rice
Delicious!
Our Christmas tree! 18 days and counting!
LOVE the tree :) I like Jamie's basic risotto base recipe. Ben's obsessed with risotto, and yes it has to have mushrooms! I think they add a nice dimension. Roasted pumpkin is also amazing, especially when topped with fetta. mmmmm.
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo