Roasted Vegetable Risotto

Comfort food at it's best, this one. And with four vegetables, you've almost hit your '5 a day' quota in one go - huzzah!

Roasted vegetable risotto

1/2 small pumpkin, cut into smallish squares
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 zucchini, grated
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1.5 litres vegetable stock or water
2 cups arborio rice
Parmesan cheese, to serve


1 - Heat oven to 200 C. Place the pumpkin and tomatoes in a roasted pan, toss with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30ish minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the stock until it is simmering. In another saucepan (a large one), heat the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the rice and let it cook for a couple of minutes, or until the rice becomes translucent.

3 - Add the stock one ladleful at a time, letting the rice absorb it before adding more. Continue in this way until almost all of the stock is used up, and the rice is almost al dente. Add the zucchini alongside the rest of the stock, and finish the cooking.

4 - Stir in the pumpkin and tomato carefully (you don't want to squish the veggies too much), then serve topped with parmesan if desired.

Chilli Beetroot Dip with Marinated Goat's Cheese followed by Broad Bean and Lemon Risotto

We had friends over for dinner on Friday night, so I decided that elegant yet modern Italian would be just the thing. Enjoy!

Chilli and Beetroot Dip with Marinated Goat's Cheese

6 beetroot, peeled and diced into largish chunks

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

100 grams marinated goat's cheese

3 pieces wholemeal Sorj bread, cut into 8cm squares

1 - Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the beetroot in a large roasting dish, and toss with the olive oil. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes, or until tender. Set aside to cool.

2 - Puree the beetroot and chilli flakes together, adding a teaspoon of water if it becomes too thick.

3 - Meanwhile, toast the Sorj bread in a hot oven for 2 minutes, or until crispy.

4 - Arrange the dip, the goat's cheese and Sorj bread nicely on a platter, and serve. The dip tastes awesome with some goat's cheese slathered in top!

Note: The dip will keep in the fridge for 4 days, and is great on toast, as a spread on burgers, or even as a vegetable side dish.

Broad Bean and Lemon Risotto

300 grams broad bean pods

50 grams butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1.5 litres vegetable stock or water

2 cups arborio rice

Grated rind of one lemon

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 - Shell the broad beans. Bring a small pot of water to the boil, and add the beans, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Drain, then set aside to cool.

2 - Once the beans are cool enough to handle, slip each one from it's little grey case. Set aside.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the stock until it is simmering. In another saucepan (a large one), heat the olive oil and butter together. When hot, add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the rice and lemon rind, and let it cook for a couple of minutes, or until the rice becomes translucent.

4 - Add the stock one ladleful at a time, letting the rice absorb it before adding more. Continue in this way until all the stock is used up, and the rice is al dente. Add the broad beans and parmesan cheese, and stir through gently, taking care not to squish the beans. Take off the heat, then serve, seasoning to taste, and with extra parmesan for those who like it cheesy. Accompany with a simple lettuce and cucumber salad.

Chilli and tomato risotto

Eek! No picture today, so please accept my deepest apologies. I had a sick friend over for dinner, and was so busy ministering to her needs by making this fabulously comforting risotto (I tells ya, all that chilli is great for clearing out the sinuses!) that I completely forgot the whole 'take a pic of my dinner' thing. Oops.

Chilli and tomato risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock or water
800 gram tin of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or less if you don't like a big whopping chilli hit)
100 grams mild Taleggio cheese (or something similar)

1 - Heat the stock or water in a saucepan until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

2 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and chilli flakes and cook in the oil and onion mixture for a minute or two.

3 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed.

4 - Next, add a ladleful of the crushed tomatoes. Stir well, until all the tomato juice is absorbed. Alternate between the stock and the tomatoes, stirring continually, until both are finished or the rice is al dente.

5 - Serve in nice deep bowls, and top with some chunks of taleggio cheese, which will melt beautifully into the risotto. Blow nose at regular intervals.

Silverbeet, pumpkin and feta risotto with brie toasties

There's nothing better on a cold winter's evening, when the wind is rattling the windows and the rain is pattering on the roof, to find yourself sitting snugly inside, tucking into a big bowl of risotto goodness. Unless, of course, it's finding a nice bottle of red to open just prior to sitting down and tucking in.

Risotto
1/2 small Jap pumpkin, peeled and cut into smallish pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch of silverbeet, washed well, leaves removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of arborio rice
1 litre of vegetable stock or water
100 grams of firm feta, crumbled

1 - Put the pumpkin into a medium sized saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer pumpkin until tender. Drain the pumpkin, and mash. Set aside.

2 - Heat the stock or water until boiling. Turn down to a simmer.

3 - Meanwhile, heat the oil and then gently saute the onion until golden. Add the arborio rice and cook in the oil and onion for a minute or two.

4 - Begin adding a ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir well, until all the stock is absorbed. Keep adding the stock, a ladle at a time, until the rice is al dente, stirring frequently.

5 - At the stage add another ladle of the stock, plus the mashed pumpkin. Stir until the stock is absorbed.

6 - Add the silverbeet, and stir in until wilted. Take the risotto off the heat, then add in the feta. Divide into bowls and serve with the brie toasties.

Brie toasties
Now this isn't really what you'd call a necessary accompaniement to the risotto, but when you have some beautiful sourdough bread at home, and you've just popped into the cheese shop and come out with some super-ripe brie, what else can you do?

1 slice of sourdough bread per person
1 or two slices of brie per person, enough to cover the bread.

1 - Put the brie on the bread, and put under a grill. Grill until the brie is slightly bubbling, then serve.

Risotto Balls with green salad

I don't know about you, but I find Tuesdays to be killers. It's no longer the absolute beginning of the week, so you're not full of enthusiam. But it's nowhere near the end of the week, and the weekend feels sooooo long away. It's just... Tuesday. Thank goodness most of dinner was made last night, hey!

Risotto Balls

Leftover risotto mixture
2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups dried breadcrumbs

1 - Divide the risotto into balls, using wet hands.

2 - Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs so they are fully coated.

3 - Heat the oil in a saucepan until hot. It should be hot enough that a cube of bread will sizzle on contact.

4 - Free 3 or 4 balls at a time, for 3ish minutes, until the balls are golden. Drain on kitchen towel and serve with the green salad.

Green salad

2 cups of lettuce leaves, washed and dried well
1/2 an avocado, sliced
1/2 a punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 - Add the vegetables to a bowl.

2 - In a small cup, add the vinegar, mustard and oil, and mix well. Pour over salad and serve immediately.