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[Cinnamon]

Having had a not very nice Risotto once, I have never made it until last night,assuming that I don't like it

But I was inspired by Valentine Warner on 'What to eat now' to make one to use up my left over roast chicken , plus I added peas,onion,courgette,garlic & toms from the garden.

Well, it was truly delicious, & easy to make, so I wondered if anyone had any other good combinations to through into a Risotto?

[Lydia]

I love making rissotto and make it most weeks.

 

Butternut squash and sage is a real favourite. Pumpkin also works well if its in season. Mackerel and rosemary is also good but a tad faffy as you have to roast, bone and flake the mackerel first (essentially more washing up too!).

 

Broad bean and bacon works well too. Good at this time of year to use up broad beans.

 

For a lighter rissotto I add salmon and peas and stir through a tablespoon or two of low fat creme fraiche instead of the butter and cheese.

[Cinnamon]

They all sound wonderful, thanks.

 

I can certainly see it becoming a regular in our house - clean plates all round last night!

[PurpleTree]

I've only made risotto in my pressure cooker, I wouldn't know how to do it otherwise. Are they easy? Mine involves chicken, peas, sweetcorn, peppers and mushrooms

[craftyhunnypie]

Only ever done the pampered chef version - chuck it all in the stoneware dish!

 

Emma.x

[chickencam]

We make a pea and asparagus one when we have asparagus at the allotment. We also do pumpkin and sage in the autumn, Gordon Ramsey recipe I think.

 

unfortunately it is one of those dishes that only 3 of us really like so we don't make it that often. Funny because the other 2 love normal rice but don't like rissotto.

[majorbloodnock]

I always do risottos "longhand", and always with one of the proper risotto rices to make sure it ends up really creamy.

 

I tend to pop in whatever veggies are to hand, but I rarely make it entirely vegetarian. Cubed pancetta makes a really good start (especially since you can dry fry it first and get out quite a bit of the fat which, when combined with olive oil, gives the veggies an even better flavour), but my favourites tend towards seafood. If that's the case, I'll usually cook the seafood until only just done, then remove from the pan before making the risotto, then finally stirring the seafood back in at the end. That way, you still get the juices soaking into the rice but the seafood doesn't get overcooked. King prawns, scallops, clams, mussels and baby squid work particularly well for me, especially if plenty of garlic's involved too.

[Milly]

We make a very nice Jamie risotto with peas and prawns. But once you have the basic method I think the possibilities are endless! It's a good storecupboard standby.

 

Milly

[Lesley]

Garlic Mushroom is my favourite.

 

Soak some dried musshrooms in boiling water for as long as you can - an hour is good but even 15 mins will make all the difference to the flavour.

 

Fry sliced mushrooms with garlic and remove from the pan.

 

Fry and onion and then add the rice to the pan. Make the risotto in the usual way using the mushroom juice (and the soaked mushrooms if you like them) and vegetable stock.

 

When the rice is cooked and creamy add a handful of fresh or frozen peas, the garlic mushrooms, some grated cheese and a k"Ooops, word censored!" of butter.

 

I ring the changes with french beans or courgette instead of the peas - cook them first.

[Griffin]

I always do risottos "longhand", and always with one of the proper risotto rices to make sure it ends up really creamy.

Me too. It must always contain a good vegetable stock and some white wine too. I have a cheap bottle of wine in the fridge I use just for cooking.

 

There was a recipe for beetroot risotto in Good Food magazine this month. We tried it on Wednesday and it was lovely It looked amazing too. Roast chunks of beetroot in the oven, whizz some of it up in the blender once cooked and stir that through the risotto. Chop the rest of the beetroot up and stir that through. The recipe was for a baked risotto but I still used my preferred method of stirring it in a saucepan.

[Cinnamon]

The veggie ones sound espeically nice, & great for me as I have a veggie daughter.

 

The leftover roast chicken I threw in at the last minute when I made mine, taking Cleo's portion out first, & it worked really well.

 

I enjoyed making it, it was a satisfying thing to make, with all the stirring & adding of bits & pieces. The stock (bouillon) & wine were used too, & as you say they really help to make a nice rich flavour

[Lydia]

I've only made risotto in my pressure cooker, I wouldn't know how to do it otherwise. Are they easy? Mine involves chicken, peas, sweetcorn, peppers and mushrooms

 

It is very easy but can be time consuming depending on what you put in. The actual stirring bit shoudl take about 20-25 minutes but there can be faff beforehand with cooking stuff etc.

 

There's an excellent book - Risotto, Risotto by Valentina Harris which has all sorts of ideas to get you started. Thing is it gets on my nerves a bit as all the quantities are in quarts, American pounds and cups of this and that. A quick google conversion search clears up confusion and I've written this in my book for reference.

[Willow]

I love the Jamie Pea and prawn risotto as well.

 

We mostly do a mushrom one with mix of dried mushrooms and fresh.

 

One of Jamies books has excellent instructions for doing the basic risotto.

[BarbaraJ]

I love rissotto, made a lovely salmon , king prawn and fresh petit pois one for friends recently. Good stock and proper rice eccential i think

 

basically i chuck anything in i fancy really!

[BarbaraJ]

Only ever done the pampered chef version - chuck it all in the stoneware dish!

 

Emma.x

 

do you have the recipe to hand for that please?

[Tweety]

The Roasted Sun-dried tomato risotto in Delia's Winter Collection is fantastic - and even eaiser than normal risotto as it is cooked in the oven. I am veggie, so it suits me very well, but even my carnivorous friends love this one. If anyone wants the recipe and hasn't got the book, just shout!

[Lesley]

I refuse to buy Delia books after she was very rude on TV about vegetarians and then promptly jumped on the bandwagon and brought out a vegetarian recipe book

 

.....but I don't mind using Deliaonline or using her recipes so 'yes please', could you add it here?

[Tweety]

Here it is:

 

Roasted and Sun-dried Tomato Risotto

 

For the Roasted Tomatoes:

 

700g tomatoes

1 dsp extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 pack basil leaves

salt & black pepper

 

Skin tomatoes if you wish. Slice in half and place on a shallow roasting tray. Season, sprinkle with olive oil, add garlic and top with basil leaves. Roast in a pre-heated oven - gas mark 6/400F/200C - for 50 - 60 mins. Blend in a processor.

 

For the Risotto:

 

1 red onion, finely chopped

25g butter

225g canaroli rice

275ml dry white wine

330ml boiling water

2 tsp sun-dried tomato paste

110g sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

50g Parmesan, freshly grated

 

 

Melt butter and fry onion until tinged brown at edges. Add rice and sitr to coat with buttery juices. Add wine, bring up to boiling point and let it bubble for a minute then add the tomato paste and water, seasoning, processed roasted tomatoes and dried tomatoes. Stir and bring up to simmering point, then transfer to a warmed oven proof dish and put in the oven - gas 4/350F/180C for 35mins. Then stir in the grated parmesan and give it another 5 - 10 mins, until tender but retaining some bite. Serve with extra parmesan, topped with any leftover basil leaves.

 

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a starter.

[Lesley]

Thank you

[laurmurf]

There's an excellent book - Risotto, Risotto by Valentina Harris which has all sorts of ideas to get you started. Thing is it gets on my nerves a bit as all the quantities are in quarts, American pounds and cups of this and that. A quick google conversion search clears up confusion and I've written this in my book for reference.

 

The Lurker has not one but TWO copies of this and she makes a mean risotto! I have absolutely no patience for the making of it (i can barely contain myself while she's making it) but I have all the time in the world for the eating

 

The gorgonzola and sage is absolutely to die for, the red wine one is nice if a bit ugly (to quote) and her favourite rices are carnaroli or arborio

[Lydia]

I made the beetroot risotto from the September Good Food magazine yesterday and it was delish! And it was easier than many risottos because it was mostly oven baked.

 

You had to wear sunglasses to eat it because the colour was vibrant but it was yummy.

 

Here is the link.

[Lesley]

I made the tomato one which is supposed to go in the oven - but I actually love making risotto and love standing and stirring it I find it very relaxing.

 

The beetroot one sounds interesting - I've got plenty of beets at the moment.

[BarbaraJ]

butternut squash rissotto is yummy!