When you have to cook for fussy eaters or folks with the growing plethora of food intolerances or dietary restrictions, your arsenal for creating flavourful dishes is seriously reduced. It's simply more difficult to make so-called "plain food" delicious than dishes deploying flavour-rich spices and ingredients. But here's a simple risotto dish upon which you can rely.
This dish is great when you need to whip up something tasty in 30 to 40 minutes. It's also a good option when you suddenly find yourself needing to feed more mouths than anticipated by simply increasing ingredient quantities proportionally.
It's also a good choice for all the freebies: gluten-free, lactose-free and hassle-free. It's low in fat—and can be made even lower in fat by swapping out a few ingredients. Unlike many risotto recipes from Northern Italy, it deploys no butter or cheese in the final stages and its creaminess comes entirely from the rice itself. If you feel like a tangential understanding of the culture of risotto, take a look at this.
Although Arborio risotto rice isn't specifically low-carb, it's lower in carbohydrates than many other types of rice such as white long grain rice. This dish isn't spicy and makes use of mild herbs rather than spices or "fiery" ingredients such as chillies.
It's one of the numerous dishes that I cook without adding salt: the salt that is already in some of the ingredients is enough. Obviously, if you are a die-hard salt fanatic, add this at the seasoning stage. And, you will definitely need to add a little salt if opting for some of the non-meat variations (see below), for example if swapping the pancetta for cubed aubergine.
Saying that, despite its healthy credentials, I have no intention of producing a "special diet" recipe. Yes, you can adjust the recipe to tailor it to your own dietary requirements. But, making plain food flavourful is quite a skill. So, I take no responsibility for taste reduction if you mess about with it.
The other important thing is to observe the general pointers on producing the perfect risotto when making it.
This recipe is for two to three adults. You do the sums based on the number of pairs of eyes piercing your soul in hungry expectation.
Shopping list
For the risotto
250g Arborio risotto rice
100g pancetta or smoked bacon lardons, cubed
2 medium brown or white onions, finely chopped
150g fresh mushrooms, sliced
Approx. 1 cup of fresh or frozen garden peas
20ml extra virgin olive oil
1 vegetable stock cube or jelly, diluted (or 1 cup fresh vegetable stock)
1 heaped teaspoon of smoked garlic paste/purée (NB: I thoroughly recommend Bart's version. You can substitute crushed garlic instead but that essentially creates a different dish because the sweet, smokiness of this ingredient is key here.)
1 yellow or red bell pepper, cubed
A few large fresh basil leaves
A pinch of cinnamon
1 glass of white wine
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the salad
A large clutch of fresh basil
2 or 3 large ripe tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Cooking method
The risotto
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan with a lid on a high heat. Ensure that it is evenly spread around the pan. Add the smoked garlic paste and allow it to warm for a minute or so. Add the chopped onions and stir thoroughly
Cook the onions and garlic paste, stirring regularly. When the onions are barely beginning to sweat, add the chopped bell pepper. Stirring regularly, allow the ingredients to cook for a few minutes
Add the pancetta or lardons, ensuring that all sides are coated. Allow the ingredients to sizzle for a further minute or so, stirring frequently. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir in. Keep stirring until the mushrooms are fully coated and begin to show signs of softening (don't wait until they begin to turn brown)
Pour in a third of the glass of wine, add black pepper and the pinch of cinnamon. Stir regularly and allow the mixed ingredients to cook for a further 3 to 4 mins
Push the contents of the pan towards the outer edges, clearing an empty space at the centre of the pan. To this add a drizzle of olive oil and allow it to heat for a minute or so. Add the raw risotto rice. First, stir it around in situ, ensuring that it is evenly sealed in the oil. Then stir all the contents thoroughly, ensuring that the rice and other ingredients are mixed evenly. Pour in the remaining wine and allow it to boil off while stirring thoroughly
As soon as the wine has evaporated, pour in about a cup of liquid stock and stir. The stock should largely cover the ingredients, but they should not be fully submerged. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to add some additional water from a boiled kettle to get the liquid to the right level. Stir gently once or twice. Place the fresh basil leaves on the surface of the liquid. Allow the liquid to come to the boil and boil vigorously for 3 to 4 mins before stirring thoroughly
Reduce to a medium-to-low heat. Cover the pan and allow the risotto to simmer for about 10 mins. Stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, add small amounts of boiling water at a time to ensure there is sufficient liquid in the pan to prevent the ingredients from sticking or drying out
The risotto will then cook for a further 10 to 15 mins, dependent on how quickly it is cooking and your personal preferences regarding how al dente you wish it to be and how much liquid you prefer in the final dish (see here for more information). During this time, you will increase the heat slightly to ensure that it remains at a continued simmer. It will also need almost constant stirring. This will ensure that the rice cooks evenly and that you have optimum control over the amount of liquid in the final dish
As the liquid boils back, add small amounts of boiling water, stirring continuously. After the risotto has been simmering in this manner for a total of about 15 mins (i.e. from when you first covered and allowed to simmer), start tasting two or three grains of the rice every 2 or 3 mins. The shift from undercooked to perfect al dente happens surprisingly quickly and you want to be ready for it
Steam the peas in a microwave or by more traditional method until half-cooked if frozen; don't steam if using fresh
As soon as the rice is showing signs of being nearly cooked, add the peas and stir in thoroughly. Ideally you should time this to be only a few minutes before the dish is ready. In this final stage (usually after 20 to 25 mins of simmering), focus on getting the moisture of your risotto to the optimum point. Try not to add additional water, but do so if it has become too dry
When the rice is cooked al dente, stir thoroughly, remove from the heat, cover and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. You can sprinkle with grated parmesan at the table if you wish, but I personally recommend not doing so with this particular risotto. The strong flavour of the cheese can overwhelm the subtle, herbal flavours.
The salad
Remove the washed and drained basil leaves from the stems and lay out on a flat plate or dish
Add thinly sliced tomatoes
Dress with balsamic vinegar, olive or walnut oil and a little ground rock salt (optional)
Non-meat options
Replacing the pancetta or lardons, with smoked tempeh, cubed aubergine or walnut quarters are my personal favourite veggie/vegan versions. For each veggie option, you will need to adjust the recipe slightly. For the aubergine option, add exactly as you would the pancetta. If opting for smoked tempeh, add about halfway through the risotto's simmering time to avoid it becoming too soggy. And, if going for walnuts, stir in about 6 to 7 minutes before serving to prevent them turning the broth bitter.
For pescatarians, my two top recommendations are swapping out the pancetta for anchovies or fresh tuna or swordfish cut into cubes about the same size as large bacon lardons. Again, adjust the recipe slightly. With anchovies, add them no sooner than the last two minutes of cooking time. For the best result with the tuna/swordfish, in a separate small frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil—barely a film on the bottom of the pan—then sear all sides of the cubes for no more than a minute or so; so that the outer facets are seared but the fish remains practically raw inside. Add these to the risotto in only the last minute of cooking.
Whilst it will work with fish stock, if you want a more pervasive seafood flavour, I strongly recommend using vegetable stock or at least 50/50 fish and vegetable stock. This is because fish stock has a tendency to overwhelm the more subtle vegetable and herbal flavours in the dish.
Pairings
Plain good cooking, this risotto works well with subtle excellent wines, but equally well with quaffable workaday wines, beers or sparkling water with a dash of lemon or mint. Despite the pancetta or lardons and the heartiness of the rice itself, I find that my choice is led as much by the seasons as the ingredients: chilled refreshing whites or dry rosés highlight the basil and light herbal flavours in the summer while warming reds that aren't too heavy are the perfect accompaniment for the smokier notes of the smoked garlic, pancetta and mushrooms in colder seasons.
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