Читать книгу Great Family Food - Kevin Dundon - Страница 15

25g/1oz/¹/₄ stick butter

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

¹/₂ tsp chopped fresh thyme,

3 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely chopped

350g/12oz/generous 2¹/₂ cups arborio rice

50ml/2fl oz/¹/₄ cup dry white wine

1 litre/1³/₄ pints/4 cups boiling chicken stock

100ml/3¹/₂ fl oz/scant ¹/₂ cup double cream (optional)

75g/3oz/³/₄ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (optional)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 On a low heat, slowly melt the butter in a wide saucepan with a thick base. Add the shallots, thyme and garlic and cook very gently until completely softened. Add the rice and mix in well to ensure that it does not stick to the base of the pan at this crucial time. Allow the rice to become glazed and cook without any liquid for 3-4 minutes while continuing to stir. Add the white wine and once again continue to stir the rice, as the wine will evaporate quite quickly.

2 Do not change the heat. Add the stock little by little into the rice mixture—don’t add the next ladle until the previous one has evaporated. It is vitally important not to rush this process, but continue to add all the liquid until the rice is plump and tender.

3 Season this mixture and if you wish to obtain a nice creamy risotto you can add both the cream and Parmesan cheese. Adding just Parmesan will also make a great risotto.

4 Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Tip:

It is important that the chicken stock is hot before being added to the dish; otherwise it will cool the risotto down during cooking and make it very stodgy.

Variations:

All of the following are great added to your basic risotto mixture:

Roasted asparagus tips with Parmesan

Pan-fried wild mushrooms

Roasted pumpkin with chunks of goat’s cheese

Cooked chicken breast and chorizo