A Beautiful, Simple, Risotto Bianco

I found this recipe in the 'James does....' cook book in the Italy section and decided to cook it with my mum one night back in June. Having never made a risotto before I was a little apprehensive but decided to give it a go and I have to say, having followed the recipe to the letter it worked out perfectly! A beautifully simple risotto with bags of flavour that can be served as a starter or a main course - yum!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 litre vegetable stock

Olive oil

½ an onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 stick of celery, trimmed and finely chopped

300g risotto rice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

125ml white wine

A knob of butter

A large handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method

·      

Pour your stock into a pan and leave on a low heat. Get an appropriately high-sided pot on a low heat and add a good lug of olive oil, the chopped onion and the celery. Cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not coloured. Turn the heat up to medium, add the rice and a pinch of salt and stir for 2 minutes, so that the rice sucks up all the lovely flavour and develops a nutty taste. 

Pour in the wine and stir until absorbed. Add a ladle full of stock, stir, and wait until it’s been fully absorbed before adding more. Cook for 16 to 17 minutes, adding more stock every minute or so and stirring regularly, until the rice is al dente. This means it should be soft and a pleasure to eat, but still holding its shape. At this stage the risotto should be slightly looser than you want it to be finally, as it will thicken as it sits. 

Take the pan off the heat, stir or beat in the butter and Parmesan, then season to taste. At this point you've got an absolutely delicious risotto bianco, which is simple, lovely, comfort food. You can either tuck in or take it a few steps further by adding different cheeses or vegetables. Once you've taken it as far as you want, pop the lid on and let it sit for 2 minutes before serving. The most important thing to keep in mind is that risotto must always be oozy.

Please note all photographs used in this blog entry are actual pictures of my cooking, not file photos.