Plat du Jour

Leek and Mushroom Risotto

 

I haven't done any cooking at all for the past fortnight. We've been doing some serious work to our home, so we've been too busy to think about food, let alone make it. Take-away has been our only sustenance. But now, as the paint has dried and business has returned to usual, we are back in the kitchen. As it's cold and wet outside and comfort food (and an open fire) are in order, risotto seemed like the perfect choice. This time we opted for a leek and mushroom one, with a nice bit of cheese thrown in for good measure. This will feed two decidedly pooped painters.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium leeks (white and light green parts only), finely chopped

3½ oz (100 g) chestnut mushrooms, chopped

10½ oz (300 g) Italian carnaroli rice

1¾ pints (1 litre) hot  vegetable stock (from Marigold Swiss bouillon powder)

4½ fl oz (125 ml) dry white wine

3½ oz (100 g) Dolcelatte cheese, cut into tiny cubes

2 oz (50 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Cooking Instructions:

Begin by putting the kettle on to boil the water for the stock. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, garlic, leek and mushrooms (see photo below), then fry gently for about 5 minutes until softened. Make up the vegetable stock and set aside until it's needed. 

Add the rice to the frying pan and stir everything around so the rice gets a coating of the oil (see photo below). Turn up the heat and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly, until the rice becomes slightly translucent. Add the white wine and keep on stirring until it has been absorbed by the rice.

Once the rice has absorbed the wine, add a good seasoning of salt and pepper and the first ladle of stock and turn the heat down to a simmer.

 

Cook, stirring constantly, until the first ladle of stock has been absorbed, then add another. Once the stock has been absorbed, add another. Then go on adding one ladle at a time, waiting for it to be absorbed before adding another, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender (see photo below). This should take about 15-20 minutes.

Stir in the Dolcelatte, then remove the pan from the heat and season to taste. Stir in the Parmesan, then place a lid on the pan (or cover with foil) and leave to rest for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. The cheese will make this a nice and gloopy dish, but the rice should have maintained its shape.

Bon appétit!

Cannellini Beany Goulash

 

Before this evening, I'd never even seen goulash, let alone eaten it, so I thought I'd better stick to a fairly basic recipe. Ryoma became befuddled and thought we were cooking Stroganov, so his sous cheffing was a little below par. I'm thinking of docking his wages. Anyway, the recipe, which feeds four, is a modified version of one by Rose Elliot, from the very first vegetarian cookery book I ever bought (back in 1995) - the Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. Only minimal photos this time... I took several but they turned out steam-blurred. Ryoma ran out of huff-n-puff so we (and the camera) were engulfed in the stuff. 

Ingredients for the Goulash:

2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini beans, drained

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lb (450 g) onions, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large green peppers, deseeded and sliced

2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of chopped tomatoes

4 tbsp tomato purée

1 heaped tbsp smoked paprika

salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 fl oz (150 ml) soured cream

 

Ingredients for the rice:

10 fl oz (275 ml) basmati rice

1 pt (550 ml) boiling water

pinch of salt, to taste

 

Cooking Instructions:

Begin by popping the rice into a saucepan with the boiling water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer for approximately 20 minutes. While the rice is simmering, move on to making the goulash. You can leave the rice to sit for ten minutes once it's ready.

To make the goulash, add the olive oil to a large pan and fry the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes (see photo above).

Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, paprika, cannellini beans and a seasoning of salt and pepper, then simmer, uncovered, for fifteen minutes (see photo above). Stir in the soured cream, then serve with the rice.

Bon appétit!

Roasted and Sun-dried Tomato Risotto

  

My favourite recipe out of all the ones we've tried so far is the three cheese risotto, so I thought it was about time we tried another risotto. This time it's a tomato one, and a very tangy and tasty one this is too! We used organic baby plum tomatoes when making the recipe, but you could use big ones instead if you want to cut down on the preparation time. Babies (as in tomatoes) are a bit fiddly to skin and halve, but they do taste wonderful... I think they're worth the effort. This scrummy dish will feed two. And by the way, it smells amazing. 

Ingredients for the roasted tomatoes:

1½ lb (700 g) tomatoes

1 dessertspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large clove garlic, finely chopped

15 g pack (or ½ oz) basil leaves

a little extra chopped basil for garnishing

salt and freshly milled black pepper

  

Ingredients for the risotto:

2 level teaspoons sun-dried tomato purée

4 oz (110 g) sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (the dehydrated ones, not the ones in oil)

1 oz (25 g) butter

1 red onion, finely chopped

8 oz (225 g) Italian carnaroli rice

¼ level teaspoon saffron stamens

10 fl oz (275 ml) dry white wine

2 oz (50 g) Parmesan, freshly grated, plus 1 oz (25 g) extra shaved into flakes

salt and freshly milled black pepper

  

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

First of all, place the tomatoes into a bowl, pour on enough boiling water to cover them, leave them to stand for 1-2 minutes, then remove the skins. Next, slice each one in half, place the halves on the baking tray (cut side up), then season with salt and pepper, sprinkle a few drops of olive oil on each one, then add the chopped garlic. Top each tomato with half a basil leaf that has been dipped in oil first to get a good coating (see photo below).

Put the tray of tomatoes into the oven and roast them for 30 minutes, until the edges of the tomatoes are slightly blackened (see photo below), then remove them from the oven. Inhale... don't they smell just gorgeous?

Reduce the oven temperature to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C), then pop in a 9 inch oven-proof dish to pre-heat it. Put the roasted tomatoes and all of their juices into a blender and give them a whoosh (incredibly technical term... you know what I mean). 

Put the saffron into a mortar and crush it to a powder with a pestle. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and fry the onion for about 5 minutes, until slightly browned at the edges. Next, add the rice and stir it around to coat all the grains with the butter. Cook for about a minute, until the grains are translucent, then add the saffron and wine and bring everything to the boil. 

Next, add the tomato purée, the sundried tomatoes and 12 fl oz (330 ml) of boiling water. Give everything a good stir, then add the tomato mixture that you whooshed in the blender earlier. Everything should now be a fairly bright orange (see photo below). Bring everything up to a simmer, then transfer to the warmed oven-proof dish. Pop the dish into the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

When the 35 minutes are up, stir in the grated Parmesan, then give it another 5 minutes in the oven. When the rice is ready, it should be tender but still maintain a certain firmness. Serve immediately with shavings of Parmesan and a little chopped basil (see photo below).

Bon appétit!