World’s best risotto
This is a recipe from a friend of mine and is brilliant - this is the first, and to date only, risotto I have ever made and it’s a piece of piss - even my Mum could make it. It is delicious and savoury and wholesome and comforting and impressive - if you’re inviting girls over for dinner this should do the job.
Ingredients for 2 (same for 1)
- 1/2 jar of artichoke hearts in oil
- 1 x Cubetti di Pancetta (in all supermarkets near ham/salami/chorizo) - little sachets of salty goodness
- 1 onion
- 2-3 garlic
- handful of rosemary
- 150g (75g for 1) risotto rice (eg. arborio)
- glass of white wine
- 500ml of vegetable stock (I like swiss vegetable bouillon - as recommended by celebrity chefs)
- butter (dollop)
- parmesan (sprinkling)
Method
- Fry the pancetta (med-high) in some olive oil. I like to use a wok style frying pan for this.
- When brown and crispy take out of pan and put to one side - taste a couple of pieces, they’re delicious
- Fry some onion gently in the same oil on a low heat to avoid colouring until soft
- Add garlic
- Add finely chopped rosemary (if you hold the stalk upside down you can remove most of the leaves in one go)
- Add knob of butter, melt
- Add rice, stir quite a bit to get every grain of rice covered (2 mins?)
- Add a glass of wine, keep stirring (1 min)
- Once liquid is absorbed, add 1/2 the stock, give it a quick stir and leave for 10 mins (keep checking every 3-5 mins to avoid accidents)
- Once liquid is absorbed, add 1/2 (of the rest of the) stock, give it a quick stir and leave for 5 mins (keep checking every 2-3 mins to avoid accidents)
- Once liquid is absorbed, add rest of stock, give it a quick stir and leave for 5 mins (keep checking every 2-3 mins to avoid accidents)
- Once the rice tastes cooked (start tasting after 15 mins and keep checking every 2-3 mins) you’re done. It doesn’t need constant stirring and attention but don’t run a bath either.
- Turn off the heat
- Chop up the artichoke hearts into quarters (may already be chopped) and add to pan
- Add cooked pancetta
- Add knob of butter
- Quick stir, leave (covered if possible) for a couple of minutes
- Serve with crusty bread, salad leaves (or nothing)
I promise you it sounds more fiddly than it is - there’s nearly no preparation and it’s 30 mins from start to finish - and it’s bloody delicious.