Risotto, JVL-style... (Rice & Pasta Dishes)

Member Name: Belgian999

Product:	Rice & Pasta Dishes
Date:	09/10/02 (279 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, Easy to make

Disadvantages: None that I can think of!

Risotto is one of the simplest, yet tastiest hot dinners it will ever be your pleasure to make! It’s low maintenance, high-quality food, it sounds a bit exotic but is really is simplicity itself – you can botch together a sort of risotto even if all you’ve got is rice, stock, spices and something unidentifiable lurking at the back of the fridge. Of course, the better the ingredients and the more time you have to lavish on the preparation, the better it will taste, but that’s true of any food. And believe me, an appropriate female companion will appreciate the bloke stumbling about in the kitchen and producing a delicious, piping hot dish of risotto – accompanied by a glass of red wine, naturally!

As I mentioned above, you could use any old rice for the risotto – Uncle Ben’s would do, but it’s not the real deal. What you need to make an authentic risotto is arborio rice. This is available in most supermarkets now, and while it is a little bit more expensive than a bag of bog standard long grain, you will notice the difference. The key is that arborio rice contains far more starch than other varieties, and during the gradual cooking process, the starch molecules are slowly released into the sauce, thickening it to give the final dish that fabulous glossy look and texture.

What I’ll do now is give you the recipe for the classic JVL risotto for 2, with bacon and mushroom – a winner every time! My measurements are never really exact, I basically just add the ingredients in rough quantities, and stir it all around until it looks and smells ready. That’s my preferred way of doing it – you can stick to exactly 130g of this and 220ml of that, but sometimes it’s just got to feel right (it’s just like being on Ready, Steady Cook, this is!). So you will need:

Roughly one mug of arborio rice
Olive oil
4-6 rashers of bacon
A variety of spices – whatever
you fancy!
Roughly one litre of vegetable stock
1-2 medium onions, chopped
Some tomatoes (tinned or freshly chopped)
Mushrooms (fresh if possible, quartered, as many as you like)
About half a mug of white wine (or more...)
Stilton
Fresh basil

First things first, pour a generous amount of olive oil into a large, deep saucepan. Then put the pan on a medium heat and when the oil has warmed up, add some spices and plenty of chopped onion (1 or 2 medium ones, depending on your preference). As for spices – I normally use cumin, paprika, ginger and garlic (powdered or fresh and crushed, up to you). Mix all this round and wait until the onions have browned a little, and then it’s time to add the meat.

Now I like to chop up 4-6 rashers of bacon into little strips (I think the technical term for these is ‘lardons’, but don’t quote me on that) – you can take off most of the fat you get on a British bacon rasher, but leave a bit on the edge of a few strips to melt down and mix in during the cooking process. Chuck that lot in and make sure it gets well mixed in with the onions and spices, and then empty your carefully measured mug of rice into the pan.

Stir this round for a minute or two, make sure it is well coated with oil, spices and everything and then start to add the stock – you can just dump all the stock in at one go, but the dish tastes better if you add it bit by bit. That way, the flavours are enhanced and the starch is released more evenly as the rice absorbs the liquid more slowly, adding to the delicious texture. Admittedly it’s a bit boring standing there just splashing the stock in now and again so if I’m in a rush I just wallop most of it in and leave it to simmer for a bit!

Once you’ve added the stock, make sure you keep stirring, and then throw in the chopped tomatoes and mushrooms, and pour your measure of wine in on top of that. Stir e
verything round and round, making sure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan, and you will gradually see the excess liquid being absorbed by the rice, and the vegetables mulching down a bit to add their flavours to the dish. It should take about half an hour for the rice to soak up all the stock and wine, but just keep stirring (have I emphasised that enough yet?) and checking all the time. You’ll know when it’s ready – all that remains to do is crumble in a bit of Stilton, serve up two bowls of delicious risotto garnished with some fresh basil, and tuck in. Enjoy!

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