Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Risotto is just a mushy, creamy, Italian rice dish laced with lots of sexy aromatic ingredients, which I like. It’s not difficult, it just takes patience. This is from Nigela Lawson’s book Nigella Bites, and I have found many of these recipes to be winners. This recipe serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as a side.
Ingredients
2 Shallots
1 rib of celery
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups Aborio rice
1 quart of veg stock or chicken stock (appropriation)
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Needles from 2 small sprigs of fresh Rosemary
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
4 tablespoons heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
Puree the shallots and celery in a small food processor until you get a fine mush. Heat 1/2 the butter and the oil in a wide saucepan and add the shallots and celery mix. Sauté 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the rice. In another pot on the side, heat the stock, keeping it just below the boil. Put a ladleful of stock into the rice and stir till it is all absorbed. Then add another ladle and so on, and so on, till the rice is al dente. Mix the lemon zest, the rosemary into the rice. In a small bowl whisk together the yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream, and pepper. When rice no longer tastes or looks chalky, take off the heat add the egg and lemon mixture and the remaining butter and salt to taste. Garnish top with shredded Parmesan and a slice of lemon. Bon Appettito!
