Winter Risotto
Craving nourishment and comfort from warming broth and leafy vegetables; this week I celebrate the simple perfection of an excellent risotto with Winter vegetables.
Weekends with my children vary but we always aim to go on a walk at least once during the day, as a chance to decompress and regroup. Walking in London last weekend the city was filled with the most beautiful still and eerily white Winter light, that only comes with a heavy frost. The views across the river were breathtaking and helped lift the greyest of Januarys. It has been a starkly cold start to the new year with temperatures plummeting to -1 and -2 degrees. We have been bracing ourselves to leave the house with layer after layer. Quick exits with two children are near impossible. Similarly our return means taking it all off and finding somewhere to try and hang everything up, a challenge in our narrow London hallway. London townhouses have many delightfully eccentric features but tiny hallways and zero storage always peaks my frustration at this time of year.
I was lucky to catch a last glimpse of Monet and London: Views of the Thames at The Courtauld, as it has been sold out for weeks, such is his draw 120 years on from creating these masterpieces. (You can take a tour of the paintings via the galleries website to see them.) The exhibition was small and concise and realised Monet’s unfulfilled ambition to display this body of his work in London. The paintings are hauntingly beautiful views of the Thames full of colour and light, eerily familiar landscapes and outlines of the Houses of Parliament loom into view. I wonder how cold he too might have felt whilst observing these cityscapes. During our walk last weekend and amongst the noise and jostle of our family outing I recalled their timeless imagery to my mind.
As a result of the cold everyone is hungry and I have struggled to keep up, my will to plan meals dipping after all the demands of the holidays. I have been craving warming broths and leafy green vegetables for nourishment and comfort. As a result I wanted to write about risotto which is a that rare dish which I believe both kids and adults will enjoy together. It may also be one of the easiest ways of getting my children to eat more nutrient dense broths as it simply absorbs all of its goodness into glossy grains of rice. You can use both arborio and carnaroli rice for risotto, but if you find the latter (carnaroli rice) I would recommend it, with a higher starch content it creates a beautiful creamy finish to the final dish.
This is my master risotto recipe, I find the simple soothing act of stirring hot stock into rice meditative. Risotto will complement many ingredients and based on what’s in season you can add seasonal flavours you love to eat. I had a beautiful Delica Pumpkin and some Cavolo Nero both of which I used up. Delicia Pumpkin is confusingly a winter squash it has a sweet, nutty flavour and dense orange flesh from a short aging process, making it really worth trying if you can buy one.
I roasted the Delicia with the skin on, as it is hard and difficult to remove. Drizzle with olive oil and some finely chopped fresh rosemary and cook for 30 mins. Once cooled a little you can then remove the skin easily. I also made some crispy Cavolo Nero, I simply stripped the leaves from the stems, shred them and roast the dark green ribbons in olive oil and sea salt for 10 minutes. This provided a lovely crunch and some iron rich goodness. It was a memorable meal and here is the recipe.
Recipe of the Week
Risotto with Delica Pumpkin and Crispy Cavolo Nero
This master risotto recipe is one I’ve used many times and I have few techniques and tips to help you navigate this version. Gently sauté the onions for at least 15-20 minutes as they need to be meltingly soft. As you add the rice make sure you stir well - each grain should be coated in the oil, butter and softened onions, before you start to add hot stock. Use homemade stock ideally, or the best quality stock that you can buy. When the rice is plump, glossy and just al-dente remove from the heat. Add the Parmesan and butter to finish and enrich the dish. Finally place a lid over the risotto and let it relax for 5 minutes before serving.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
250g carnaroli rice
1 -1.2 litres homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
15g of unsalted butter
In a separate pan heat the stock in preparation. Next take a shallow heavy bottomed pan in which you will make your risotto: melt the olive oil and the butter, add the finely diced onion and gently soften with a pinch of sea salt for 15-20 minutes on a low heat until meltingly soft. Then add the rice and stir well to evenly coat all each grain. You can now start to ladle in the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stir continuously until the stock is absorbed and repeat. Try not to rush this process, slowly the rice will take on all the liquid and the risotto will gradually swell and darken in colour. As you star the starches will be released from the rice helping the risotto to thicken. Once all the stock has been absorbed (this should take around 20 minutes) check that you are happy with the consistency of the risotto, you should have slightly al dente glossy rice with a pouring consistency. Take the risotto off the heat and stir through the finely grated Parmesan and butter. Cover the risotto with a lid and allow to rest and settle for 5 minutes before serving. Taste for seasoning.
Serve the risotto onto warm plates. I added roasted Delica Pumpkin to scatter over the finished risotto and some handfuls of crispy Cavolo Nero, then finished the plates with more grated Parmesan.