Last week's spag bol was a hit, and I ate it for every meal for three days... this week, I thought I would try something I have never done before!
Truth be told, I have never cooked rice before, except that stuff that comes in a bag that you microwave... I know that is so rubbish of me, there's no excuse. The only reason I would've made it is to go with curry anyway, and last time I cooked I was still only eating chicken korma, and usually had that with chips regardless... I also had never really had a risotto ever I don't think, until my boyfriend made one for me and I fell in love (with him and the ricey goodness).
So you probably guessed by the picture, or the above description, but this week's dish is risotto! Ham and Pea risotto to be exact! I used the recipe here. Honestly, this was the easiest recipe I could find, so thought I would give it a go.
Porky Pea Ricey Goodness
Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 onion , chopped
2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
300g risotto rice
1 ¼l chicken stock or vegetable stock
150g peas - the recipe said use frozen but I have no freezer so tinned were my substitute.
180g bacon lardons - the recipe said ham hock but I could not find that anywhere in my Morrisons (if you read last weeks then you know I hate supermarkets as it is).
2 tsp English mustard
3 tbsp mascarpone - I actually forgot to add this, what a waste of 50p!
100g mature cheddar , grated, plus extra to serve (optional) - recipe says optional, I say the more the merrier cheese-wise.
Recipe:
Now you have learnt how to cut onions (read last weeks palava here), and that you place the onions and garlic into the heat sperately, cut out all your onions and garlic cloves, and set the garlic cloves in a plate to the side.
Get side-tracked talking to co-workers about making your risotto, turn back to oven to see your onions have burnt. Deal with it, carry on cooking, and pray it has no impact.
Pop that finely chopped garlic and your risotto rice (guess how much, unless you have scales, which I do not). Cook for 30 seconds/ 1 minute, get stressed as time moves faster when you're trying to open the rice packet.
Boil water, pour into big bowl, crumble stock cube in there, stir it around. Boyfriend Chef extraordinaire taught my to ladle in your stock so you don't spill anything, so I did that, and felt very accomplished.
Leave it alone, stir every now and then. I made the mistake of moving the rice and water around too much at first and then the rice didn't cook all the way through, had to wait longer later on.
Pour in your bacon lardons after about 6 mins so the waters nice and boiling. Honestly, I don't know if that's good for you or not, as in if I should've cooked them in a separate pan or not, but I am writing this and did not die after eating it so I reckon it's fine. Add in more boiling water as you see fit, if its getting a little dry or whatever - it's a judgement call.
Add in your peas (drain that tin), mustard (I just did 1 big teaspoon) and cheese (don't forget the mascarpone!!).
Keep spooning the rice and extra bits around until you taste test it and feel amazing about your life.
Eat, add more cheese, you can add some green stuff on if you wish.
I'm actually flabbergasted that I made a risotto - I feel so adult! Last week, admittedly, I used the photo from the BBC Good Food website, but this week, it looks so good I can actually use it in my post!
Thank you to Savannah and Cordelia for sending me some top suggestions for my menu in the coming weeks. If you have any suggestions, comment below or reach out on Instagram/Facebook!
