Risotto!

Rice seems to have managed to wiggle its way into just about every type of cuisine in the world.  Of course, everyone is familiar with its compatibility with Middle-eastern and Asian foods, from Indian to Indonesian, but its proliferation into paella, rice pudding, tex-mex and of course, risotto is not to be overlooked.  

I am lead to believe it is probably a combination of far eastern merchants and the Moorish incursions to Iberia that introduced the dissemination of this wonderful grain to Europe.  There are many types of rice varieties - the red camargue rice of France, bomba rice from Spain and basmati from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

I keep only two varieties of rice in my cupboard - basmati and arborio.  Arborio is used exclusively, (in my house) for making risotto.  There are some golden rules to making risotto, and as per usual I have a list to provide you with.  Transgress these at your peril:

•   Risotto always starts with a sofritto - that is, onions, garlic, oil and butter.
•   Never add any type of cheese to a risotto except for parmigiano regianno (I can probably excuse the use of grana padano or perhaps pecorino).
•   The creamy consistency of a risotto is achieved by the slow stirring of the rice, releasing its starches.  It is never achieved by adding cream or ricotta.
•   Ensure your stock is nice and hot when you begin adding it.
•   Never overcook the rice.  It should have some bite left in it.

•   The final consistency should be firm and not sloppy.

Tonight I am going to cook a bit of a melange, a fusion perhaps, of a risotto - and this is utterly guided by what I have left in my fridge.  I have a half ring of smoky chorizo, 2 small courgettes and some frozen peas left, mulling around not doing very much, just crying out to be used.  Here is how I will make my risotto:

Chorizo, courgette and pea risotto

  

•  Chop the chorizo into small chunks.  Dry fry in a thick-based skillet and remove from the pan when the orange oil is released and they have become slightly crunchy.  

•  Finely chop one medium onion, the courgettes (2 small ones, or 1 large) and 2 cloves of garlic.  Add a few good glugs of olive oil and a generous knob of butter.  Add the chopped ingredients.
•   Fry on a medium heat until they absorb some of the oil and butter and become glistening.  Do not colour!
•   Add the arborio rice, I usually just eyeball how much is needed.  Stir the grains to ensure that each is coated with some oil and butter.
•   Heat your stock up - not boiling, but hot.
•   Add a large glass of white wine - something dry, not fruity.  An orvieto, verdicchio or soave are fine.  Increase the heat and boil off the booze.  
•   Add a handful of frozen peas.
•   Add a ladle full of hot stock to the pan.  Stir slowly and not too vigorously.  
•   When the stock has been incorporated into the risotto, add another and repeat this process until you have added all the stock.  For two people I would use 200g rice 500ml stock. 
•   Check the rice, it should be soft on the outside and a bite in the centre.  The consistency should be creamy, thick, but not wet. This should be roughly 20-25 minutes.
•   Add the chorizo to warm up.
•   Turn the heat off.  Add 20g of finely grated parmigiano, a few good turns of ground black pepper.  Check for salt, it may not need it due to the salty chorizo and parmigiano. 

 Edit : Here's the risotto from last night!