Food with JP Passion: Margherita Risotto
By JP Kennedy
This is a recipe I road-tested over a year ago and have returned to over and over again; in fact it served as Sunday dinner last week.
It’s a slightly adapted version of a recipe from Clodagh McKenna’s Irish Kitchen cookbook, but a favourite recipe in my repertoire.
The sweetness of the tomato and basil comes through along with the caramelised onions, the creaminess of the Arborio rice, plus the delicious Irish Mozzarella cheese and the saltiness of the parmesan and this means that this dish really has it all.
It’s a taste of Italy in a bowl with an Irish twist! My brother came for supper last Sunday when I made this dish and already has an order in for the next time I make it, which I promise will be very soon. It had been a while since I last made it and I’d forgotten how simple but delicious it is.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, finely chopped or two shallots
- 1 teaspoon of freshly chopped garlic or garlic powder
- 400g really good quality crushed tomatoes
- 100ml dry white wine, or water if you have no wine to hand
- 300g Arborio rice (risotto rice)
- 1 pint of hot vegetable stock
- 200g fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese
- 100g freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 10-12 large basil leaves torn
- 2 teaspoons of oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat. I always used my cast-iron casserole dish, then add the onions / shallots and garlic and fry until they are translucent – this will take about 3 minutes
2. Add the rice and mix well until each grain is evenly covered with the onion and oil mixture – allowing the rice to toast a little – this will take about 2 minutes
3. Pour in the white wine or water (if you have no wine) and the let the rice absorb almost all of it, then add the crushed tomatoes and season well
4. Let it come up to a bubble, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes
5. Add in one third of the stock and once it becomes absorbed fully add more stock and repeat until the rice is cooked – it will look nice, creamy and unctuous!
6. After about 10 minutes gently stir in the mozzarella, parmesan and basil. Once the rice is cooked divide between large bowls and serve with crispy bread to soak up all the sauce!
I’m not going to lie, I have already pencilled in the next day I will be making this for supper. Yes, there are a few stages and like any risotto you should never leave it, but really its minimal effort for incredibly tasty results.
I am really excited about this recipe, I really do hope you will give this a try and I promise you it will fast become one of your favourite supper recipes that is just perfect for entertaining.
What I love about Italian-themed recipes is they use very few ingredients, but it’s important to use good quality ingredients – they always deliver on taste and this is one of those dishes.
The Irish twist comes in sourcing good quality Irish mozzarella cheese, which nowadays is readily available in grocery stores and adds to the deliciousness of this incredible dish. I hope you all enjoy it.
