On Easter morning, Sam and I wandered over to the Brixton Farmer's Market on the hunt for tasty ingredients for a hopefully spring-like dinner. We thought a risotto would be the perfect mix of spring veggies and filling warmth since "spring" has been mostly freezing so far. The green grocer's stand had some great leeks so we grabbed a few and decided to top our risotto with sausages since they were on sale with three six sausage packages for ten pounds. We went for the honey mustard, italian seasoning and hop flavors. Since we had the honey mustard ones for lunch, those ended up on our risotto later that night.
Recipe inspired by www.foodnetwork.com
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp butter
3 cups leeks, chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
4-5 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp lemon zest
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
Method:
In a smaller pot, heat 4-5 cups of chicken stock to simmering. Keep warm for the risotto.
In a separate large pot, add the butter and olive oil and allow to melt. Meanwhile, wash and chop the leeks. When the butter has melted, add the leeks to the pot and cook until softened. When soft, add the rice and stir to ensure all the grains of rice are coated in the oil and butter before adding the white wine. Stir until the wine has been absorbed. Now, adding one ladle at a time and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next, slowly begin to incorporate the chicken stock into the risotto. As you get to the end of the chicken stock, it will take longer for each ladleful to be absorbed, which is a sign that it is getting close to being ready. Give it a taste to ensure the rice is getting close to al dente without moving into mushiness. When the rice is almost ready, add the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese with the lemon juice and then add to the risotto, followed by the parmesan cheese. Make sure everything is well mixed and the rice is finished before serving. Top with more parmesan cheese (and sausages if you'd like!) and enjoy!
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| Some of the ingredients |
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| Chopped leeks |
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| Rice being added to the leeks |
This is a great recipe from Ina Garden, the Barefoot Contessa. She uses mascapone cheese in her recipe which proved a little too hard to find in our corner shops so we went with herb cream cheese and it was delicious. I'd never added a cheese other than parmesan to risotto before and have to say it definitely improved the creaminess. I generally avoid risotto since it seems like such a pain to have to stay by it, stirring, for half an hour but actually this dish comes together so quickly that I didn't even notice the time. We had to use a wok for our pot since this makes a lot of risotto but it worked out surprisingly well so this is definitely a customizable recipe in all regards. As far as the ingredients, Ina's recipe included asparagus and peas but we skipped them since there weren't any available at the market. You could easily add mushrooms or other veggies that you have on hand. The lemon gives a bit of a kick but it was such a nice fresh flavor that this dish has helped to cement it in my favorites list.
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| Finished product |
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| Dished up with some leftover sausage |
Recipe inspired by www.foodnetwork.com
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp butter
3 cups leeks, chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup white wine
4-5 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp lemon zest
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
Method:
In a smaller pot, heat 4-5 cups of chicken stock to simmering. Keep warm for the risotto.
In a separate large pot, add the butter and olive oil and allow to melt. Meanwhile, wash and chop the leeks. When the butter has melted, add the leeks to the pot and cook until softened. When soft, add the rice and stir to ensure all the grains of rice are coated in the oil and butter before adding the white wine. Stir until the wine has been absorbed. Now, adding one ladle at a time and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next, slowly begin to incorporate the chicken stock into the risotto. As you get to the end of the chicken stock, it will take longer for each ladleful to be absorbed, which is a sign that it is getting close to being ready. Give it a taste to ensure the rice is getting close to al dente without moving into mushiness. When the rice is almost ready, add the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese with the lemon juice and then add to the risotto, followed by the parmesan cheese. Make sure everything is well mixed and the rice is finished before serving. Top with more parmesan cheese (and sausages if you'd like!) and enjoy!
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