Posts Tagged ‘Risotto’

Bite-sized Italian nibbles will make an interesting alternative or addition to traditional dim sum this Chinese New Year. Try , canederli (Italian dumplings with speck), ricotta and parmesan dumplings or arancini (deep fried risotto balls)…

Serves 4

10ml olive oil
160g carnaroli risotto rice
40ml white wine
350ml vegetable stock
30g Parmesan (grated)
40g plain flour
1 egg
80g white breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, enough to deep-fry
salt and pepper
150g n’duja

In a saucepan, gently heat the olive oil. Add the risotto rice to the pan and stir until the rice starts turning opaque at the ends. Add the white wine and stir until absorbed. Then add the stock, a ladle at a time until evaporated. After about 15 minutes, check the rice is cooked and take off the heat.

Add the butter, Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Add the egg and mix well. Leave to stand for 10 minutes, then refrigerate for 10 more minutes until cold.

Now divide into 8 portions. Make a small ball of nduja and surround with rice to make a ball. Lightly dust each ball in flour, then dip into beaten egg and then breadcrumbs.

Heat the vegetable oil to 180C in a deep-fat fryer or medium sized saucepan. Fry the arancini for a few minutes until golden brown, then drain well on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.

This risotto is wonderfully fragrant with a touch of nutty sweetness. Perfect enjoyed this time of year when chestnuts are at their very best…

50g roasted and peeled chestnuts
150g risotto rice
50ml gravy
25g grated parmesan
25g butter
half a small onion
1/2ltr vegetable stock
1 rosemary sprig
a dash of cognac
salt and pepper

Cook the roasted and peeled chestnuts in the gravy diluted with water, for half an hour. In the meantime, boil the stock with the rosemary sprig for 5 minutes, then remove the sprig and keep on the side.

Sweat the finely chopped onion in half the butter, then add the rosemary, stir and cook gently until the onions are soft and golden. Add the risotto rice and “toast” it for a couple of minutes, then add the cognac and let evaporate.

Remove the rosemary and start adding the stock, little at a time. Half way through the cooking process, add the drained chestnuts with a bit of gravy stock. Add more stock if necessary. When the risotto is “al dente”, remove from the heat, add the remaining butter and the parmesan.

Leave to rest for a couple of minutes, and serve hot.

Jacob Kenedy is chef and owner of the amazing Bocca di Lupo restaurant in Soho. The venue was awarded Restaurant of the Year in 2008 and first place in Time Out’s Top 50 Restaurants in 2009. As a customer of Natoora, Jacob creates the most superb dishes using our produce and has been kind enough to share this one with us – bone marrow & treviso risotto. You can buy all the ingredients to make this superb dish with our easy recipe kit which contains all the produce required and a recipe card from Jacob. You can also read the full recipe here…

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 small garlic clove, chopped
75g butter
1 head radicchio di treviso
160g carnaroli rice
160ml barbera d’assti libera wine
360ml beef stock (approx.)
60g bone marrow, diced 5mm (the raw marrow scooped from about half a whole marrow bone)
50g grated parmesan
a drop of goof olive oil

Buy all the ingredients here!

Gently fry the onion, celery and garlic in 50g of the butter with a good pinch of salt until tender – about 10 minutes over a moderate heat. Meanwhile, prepare the radicchio – shred it about 5mm, discarding the stalk. Add the shredded lettuce to the pan and fry for a further 5 minutes until wilted, then add the rice and fry gently for a couple of minutes more. Add 120ml of the wine and cook until it has been absorbed, then add the stock gradually, in small additions, waiting after each for it to be absorbed before pouring in the next.

Cook the risotto quite dry (not very saucy at this stage) and when you are satisfied that the rice is just a minute from being done, stir in the grated parmesan, bone marrow and butter. Stir over the heat until the butter is melted and the marrow largely so and take the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining wine (the risotto is so rich it needs a little raw alcohol to cut through it) – at this point you can also add a spoonful more stock if needed, as the finished result should be gloopy but pourable. Taste one last time.

Serves 4

250g Pumpkin (you can use delica or violina, or even butternut squash if you prefer)
3 Shallots
A handful of Fresh Rosemary
180g Arborio Rice
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 pint Stock (chicken or vegetable)
50g Butter
Parmesan for serving

First dice the pumpkin, and finely chop the shallots and rosemary. Heat the stock in a pan until almost boiling, then turn onto a very low heat. In another saucepan, sweat the shallots in the oil until soft and translucent. Add the rosemary and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add the rice and stir well to coat all the grains. Pour in a third of the stock and bring to a simmer. Leave cooking until almost all the stock is absorbed.

Now add that delicious pumpkin and a little more of the stock and again simmer until the stock is absorbed. Continue to add a little stock at a time, until the pumpkin is soft and the rice is al dente. The texture should be loose and creamy – you might need more or less stock to get it to this consistency. When ready, stir in the butter and season well. Serve and sprinkle over grated parmesan.

Theo Randall runs one of the best Italian restaurants in London, and is always on the hunt for the best ingredients. Delicious magazine got all the details recently in their Q&A with him…including a handy online shop full of quality produce. Now, who could that be…?

“Is Italian cuisine a good choice in these credit-crunched times?

Italian food is perfect; you can make pasta or risotto, you don’t have to use flash ingredients like sea bass. Buy small quantities of nice things from a deli – for instance, cavolo nero pasta or broccoli paste. Add pancetta or anchovies or Parmesan cheese – you only need a small amount. And buy online. I use Natoora, which deliver Italian, French and British to your door.”

To find out more about Theo Randall click here, or find out the rest of his answers at Delicious Magazine, “Q&As with Theo Randall”, January 2009.