This week we thought we might introduce you to a risotto recipe – nice and easy for summer supper or a quick bite of lunch.
First things first: you need to buy arborio rice. That’s Italian rice which is specially creamy and yummy when you’ve cooked it.
Take a deep saucepan and put 2 pints of chicken stock in it – you can either buy some ready-made or make up 2 pints with chicken stock cubes and boiling water. Keep this on a steady simmer while you prepare the rest of the risotto.
So then take a big high sided frying pan or any non-stick frying pan and heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in it. Add 100g of cubed pancetta or lardons with one onion which you have chopped finely, and a clove of garlic also chopped finely. Stir over a medium heat until you could see through the onion and the bacon has gone a nice brown colour.
Add the rice – about 400g as this dish serves 4 – and stir it around until the rice is coated in oil. That should take a couple of minutes. Add 150ml of white wine (the alcohol will burn off in the cooking process). Boil rapidly for a minute or so. Keep stirring and the liquid will have evaporated.
Now start adding the stock gradually with a ladle – each ladleful should have been absorbed into the mixture before you add the next. Keep stirring. This is what makes it creamy! This process of adding stock and stirring till it is absorbed takes about 15 to 20 minutes. (talk to the guests during this process)
Then add 200g of fresh or frozen peas, 50g butter, grated parmesan cheese (as much as you think is necessary). Then take the pan off the cooker and cover with a lid. Allow to rest for a minute or two then serve in bowls. You can garnish with either fresh chopped mint or some parsley…
