Crisp, fresh and vibrantly green, spring greens have a fairly short shelf life. Best eaten within 3-4 days they can sometimes be difficult to polish off and often go to waste. This recipe for Spring Greens Risotto gets past that issue by using the entire head of the brassica, making a generous and frugal meal for 4 in the process.
Risotto is a dish that adapts well to every season. Depending on what ingredients you use to flavour yours it can be light and delicate (Leek and Pea Risotto), or rich and decadent (Red Pepper and Goats Cheese Risotto). However, flavours are not the only way in which you can influence the seasonality of a dish. Though traditionally made with short, fat rice, it is possible to incorporate other grains or even pasta into a risotto. This recipe for Kale, Walnut and Lemon Pearl Barley Risotto runs with that idea, taking a step closer to winter perfection.
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.
Risotto is a dish unbound by season. As with minestrone (see me recipes for autumn and spring), the best seasonal produce can be used to great effect in this famous Italian rice dish. There is no ingredient on earth that can’t be put to bewilderingly good use in risotto, a fact that makes it very special and probably unique. Indeed, to celebrate the beginning of the British tomato season, this recipe for Tomato and Basil Risotto makes full use of the fruit’s flavour, texture and colour. Delicious is an understatement.
