As many of you will know, the base ingredients usually found in risotto are white wine, butter and – most importantly – parmesan. However, the status quo deserves to be upset once in a while and goats cheese does a great job of mixing things up. Not only is it delicious and robust, it adequately performs the duty of the usual dairy products. My Red Pepper and Goats Cheese Risotto recipe may be a break from tradition, but it’s as rich and indulgent a risotto as you’d hope to find.
The recipe below calls for a ripe goats cheese. Basically, this just means that it’s been allowed to mature and soften, which brings the flavour out even more. You can see from the photo that it’s almost liquid inside. However, should you wish to use a hard goats cheese or an unripe specimen then please do – just go with what you like.
Red peppers and paprika complement goats cheese beautifully. The sweetness of the fruit works very well with the tang of the ripe cheese, providing a very interesting and enjoyable flavour. Paprika may seem like a strange choice for risotto, but in this case it serves to complete the dish and bring its constituent parts together rather nicely.
Red Pepper and Goats Cheese Risotto
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 sweet red peppers, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 200g arborio rice
• 800ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 100g ripe goats cheese
Method:
1. Sauté the onion, peppers and garlic in olive oil for 8-10 minutes. Add the paprika followed by the rice – cook for two minutes before adding a ladle full of stock.
2. Keep adding the stock ladle by ladle, allowing the rice to absorb each ladleful before adding the next. Once the rice is just cooked remove from the heat and add the goats cheese in lumps – stir, cover and leave for 2 minutes. Stir again and serve immediately.
Cost: The price of this dish rather depends on the quality of goats cheese you opt for. My usual favourite wasn’t available so I had to plump for something a little more expensive – apparently it all comes from just one goat. Still, assuming you aren’t forced to “go expensive” this dish should set you back around £3.
34 replies on “Red Pepper and Goats Cheese Risotto”
Gorgeous. I love risottos and cook them a lot but this is a really great combination that I must try. Thank you.
Single origin goat’s cheese? 😉 This looks delicious Nick!
Indeed 😀 – thanks, Korena.
Looks amazing – the texture in the finished risotto is incredible!
Thanks and thanks again for the paprika 😀
Creamy and delicious, Nick! Great job for the price, and goats cheese in risotto is an inspired combination! 🙂
Thanks, Celia. Goats cheese works wonderfully.
Looks delicious. I would never have thought to put goat’s cheese in risotto.
I wasn’t sure quite how it would work, but it does… perfectly!
Right… that’s tomorrow’s food sorted and as frugal as….
Locally produced small goats’ cheeses 75p each or 2 for £1 in Frome market just this morning as they need eating before they crawl away!
Fantastic! Frome – very close by. I cycled there the other day actually.
Looks yummy and creamy!
Do you think it would work with some hot paprika also?
Yes – give it a go, it’ll be delicious.
Mmm, this looks amazing! I have been thinking of making risotto recently – perfect combination to try! 🙂
This works wonderfully – a great and interesting risotto.
We just picked up some goat cheese that I wanted to use in something decadent this week. I think I found my next experiment. Thank you – it looks amazing!
This is a fantastic use for goats cheese – I hope you liked it.
That looks like one seriously indulgent, creamy risotto. Now that autumn has arrived I think we all need a good rib-sticking recipe now and again 🙂
Thanks 🙂 – we do indeed.
Fantastic value at the price. It looks fantastic. Now to click on the link…
Indeed! Thanks for the vote, Conor.
Risotto is my WEAKNESS and this looks divine!!Damn it that I have recently given up grains…oh well, I may just have to make an exception 🙂
Please do – you’ll not regret it. You could make a pasta orzo rendition.
Your latest risotto recipe just went on my “must make” list! The flavors sound so complimentary and I just froze 6 pints of homemade chicken stock. Thank you for your superb sense of taste.
I’m a big fan of risotto. I made a butternut squash risotto a couple of nights ago and it was scrumptious. This looks equally tasty. Thanks for the great recipe.
Squash risotto can be SO pretty and delicious.
That cheese! Wow. The dish look delicious! I crave risotto now …
That cheese really was the best…
oh that does look yum!
I thought so 🙂
Oh wow, looks so cheesy and delicious. I hate it when risottos turn out with not enough sauce–clearly you didn’t have that problem!
I don’t mean to boast, but I make a good risotto 😀
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