River Cafe Risotto Milanese

Risotto is one of those dishes that I have always struggled with. The same could be said for rice in general. It seems to be my downfall. Last year I tried a Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto, which was the most successful that I'd been but it was far from traditional. It was time to take it back to basics and learn from the best. Recently having purchased the original River Cafe Cook Book from a charity shop, we have been working our way through Italian classics. I am now in love with the idea of spending a summer in Italy, exploring different pizzas, pastas and wine and pottering round on a Vespa in a white sundress. Finally, I have discovered why risotto is so often raved about. The Risotto alla Milanese is a rich, creamy and satisfying dish and although it does take a lot of love and attention to achieve, the finished result is well worth the effort.  

Risotto alla Milanese 

from The River Cafe Cook Book

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
300g Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
1 litre Chicken Stock
150g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 White Onion, peeled and finely chopped
75ml Dry White Wine
175g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

Heat the chicken stock. 

Melt 75g of the butter and all the oil in a large saucepan. 

Gently fry the onion until soft. 

Add the rice, and off the heat, stir until the rice becomes totally coated; this takes only a minute. 

Return to the heat, add 1 cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. 

Add the saffron. 

Continue to add more stock as the previous addition is absorbed. 

Nearly all the stock will have been absorbed by the rice; each grain should have a creamy coating and yet still be al dente. 

Add remaining butter in small pieces, the wine and the parmesan, being careful not to overstir. 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers... the kind of thing your vegetarian hippy mum used to try and force you to eat. They'd be full of things like brown, overcooked rice and lentils and barley and children's fingernails and death.

NO LONGER. I make a half arsed effort to be healthy and eat nutritious meals, but sometimes the urge for meat and cheese becomes so overwhelming that I walk into Waitrose and inhale everything with a saturated fat rating of 10g or over. This recipe is a relationship. It is built on compromise and trust. Healthy enough for you to feel smug but also enough tasty components to comfort any cravings for fatty food that you may have.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

To Serve Two

• 2 large peppers
• 1 can of refried beans
• Half a mug of uncooked rice (I used a mixture of Long Grain and Wild Rice)
• 2 large tomatoes
• A Handful of fresh chillis 
• 1 onion
• Tomato Puree
• White Wine Vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• Fresh lime for squeezing
• Cumin Seeds
• Ground Coriander
• Fresh Thyme
• Paprika
• A cheese of your choice (I used Halloumi)

Directions

First of all, preheat your oven to around 200C. 

Cook your rice and put to one side.

Chop your tomatoes and chillis into sizeable chunks and place on a baking tray. 

Take your cloves of garlic and crush them with the flat of your knife so that they split open - no need to peel them! Add these to the baking tray.

Roast these in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they start to blacken. Don't turn the oven off once they're done.

When done, take these out and whizz in a food processor until they form a 'salsaeque' consistency. Put to one side.

Chop your onion finely and sautee in a lightly oiled frying pan at a medium heat. 

Once the onion is soft and translucent, add all of your spices plus some salt and pepper for extra seasoning. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Add your 'salsa', along with 1tbsp of tomato puree, a squeeze of lime juice and a splash of white wine vinegar.

Ensure the ingredients are fully combined and cook for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat.

Get a large bowl and empty your refried beans into it. Add your rice and the salsa. Stir well until all the ingredients are well mixed.

Slice the top from your pepper and scrape out any remaining seeds. 

The easiest way for these to cook is to place them upright in a muffin tin. If not, you might want to cut your peppers in half so that you can lay them down on a baking tray. 

Fill your peppers with the mixture and top with your choice of cheese. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto

Continuing the Foodie Pen Pal theme, after my delicious 'Broad Bean, Beetroot, Pea and Ricotta Ciabattas', I still had more broad beans to use up. Alongside these was a jar of Soffrito paste, a creation unknown to me before now that I was given by Paula of 'All About the Bake' fame in my parcel. She had told me that she uses it as a base for risotto. I've never been a particularly big fan of risotto and my one previous attempt to master the tricky dish was nothing short of a disaster. But I'd had time to think over our disagreement and had decided that I, Georgie, would be queen of the risottos. 

This is an adaption of a Waitrose recipe.

Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 6 Extra Lean Italian Pork Sausages
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red onion, chopped
• A good handful of fresh Broad Beans
• 1 jar of Soffrito Paste
• 250g Riso Gallo Carnaroli Risotto Rice
• ½ pack fresh rosemary
• 100ml Italian red wine (e.g. Chianti, Montepulciano or Sangiovese)
• 500ml Boullion
• 1 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the sausages completely. Remove and put to one side.  
2. Add the onion to the oil in the pan and cook until the onion has softened.
3. Add the garlic, broad beans and soffrito paste and saute for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the rice and rosemary and let the rice crisp slightly.
5. Add the wine and blast with a high heat until all of the liquid has disappeared.
6. Pour in the stock and cook until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft.
7. Chop the sausages up into smaller chunks and add to the risotto. 
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Divide the risotto between 2 plates and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a peppery rocket salad.