Summer garden risotto

Vegetable gardening is becoming a bit competitive I think between me and my mum. She is a brilliant gardener (she’s the original), living the good life long before it was fashionable. But when all us children flew the nest she and my dad down-sized and so she only has a small garden now.

courgette, carrots, rainbow chard, radishes and tomatoes

Despite this she squeezes in a fair amount of produce (growing some things in the conservatory that looks at bit more like a greenhouse a times). And so every phone conversation starts ‘how’s the garden going?’ I’ll tell her about my successes and she replies with hers. Goes a bit like this:

Me: “I’ve been picking lots of runner beans already.”

Mum: “Oh that’s good, I haven’t had any yet. Had plenty of potatoes though.”

Me: “Yeh, me to!”

And on it goes. Anyway she told me her friend Ann also reads Food4two and likes to see how the garden is going, which is why I’ve done the photo of the vegetables (hope you are impressed Ann!). These are a few of the things I pulled out of the garden in the last few days – plus I boiled some beetroot today for salads and I’m drowning under runner beans. I’d love to hear people’s recipes for runner beans. Here I’ve done a light, summery risotto.

This recipe resembles the Italian ‘risotto primavera’, which is bursting with vegetables, but primavera means spring so I have called mine summer garden risotto. It is the same recipe as one I posted a few months back for courgette risotto with lemon and basil. But I’ve added runner beans, broad beans and a little bit of chopped mint, which was delicious in it. As you’ll see the instructions are pretty open to interpretation, this turns out different every time I do it and I like that.

Summer garden risotto

Summer garden risotto

Serves 2

Half a white onion, finely chopped

Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped

One small yellow courgette and one small green courgette, sliced

Handful of runner beans, stringed and chopped into bitesized pieces

Two handfuls of broad beans (out of their pods), blanched and their jackets removed

200g arborio rice (or other risotto rice)

1 litre of chicken stock, hot

Zest of half a lemon

Handful of grated parmesan cheese

Some basil leaves and just a few mint leave (5-7 leaves max), lightly chopped

1.Make a basic risotto base by frying the onion and garlic slowly in some oil and butter until soft. Add the rice, stir round the pan, then gradually add the hot stock, stirring all the time to encourage the starch to break down and go creamy.

2. When you have used ¾ of the stock fry the courgettes in bit of oil until brown on the outside but still crisp within. Add the runner beans to a pan of boiling water, cook for five minutes then drain.

3.Add all the vegetables to the risotto. Once the last of the stock has been absorbed, eat a bit and see if it is done. Add the lemon zest, parmesan and chopped herbs, plus some pepper and taste again, you might want to add more lemon or parmesan. Serve.

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Creamy squash and crispy pancetta risotto

Butternut squash and pancetta risotto

Risottos never featured much in my kitchen until recently. Both me and my partner don’t like white wine, which is a bit of staple in a risotto. But once I broke that rule and went for a stock-only base, things started to change. Now they pop up at least once a month and our favourite is a summery courgette risotto with lemon and basil.

 The great thing is once you get the hang of making a basic risotto there’s nowhere you can’t go. Plus they are perfect for using up left-overs.

So with nothing much for dinner one night and with not much else in the fridge other the remains of a jumbo butternut squash (it really was huge) I decided to go for a risotto, remembering a delicious pumpkin and pancetta risotto I tried at an Italian restaurant a while ago. The sweetness of the squash marries perfectly with the salty pork.

At the time I could only get hold of Parma ham and it worked in much the same way, but cooked much quicker.

For the risotto: Make your usual risotto base, just how you like it. As a guide I do 200g of arboreo rice to one litre of chicken stock for two people (add wine if you like and not if you don’t). Add a pinch of dried or fresh thyme when you are frying the onion and garlic.

While this is going on pop a tray of chopped (small cubes) butternut squash in the oven at 200 degrees – coat it in olive oil, throw a few cloves of garlic on the tray and some twigs of thyme. Roast until soft – about 20 minutes.

Add half the squash to the pan when you still have 10 minutes to go on the risotto and let it go mushy and meld into the risotto, these gives it a glorious deep orange colour. Once the rice is cooked finish by stirring in freshly grated parmesan and the rest of the squash and stir carefully so the cubes keep their shape.

Serve in deep bowls and top with crispy pieces of Parma ham or pancetta and some grated parmesan. Perfect for a chilly evening.

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A petty pan-full of risotto

The alien looking petty pan

May I introduce you to the petty pan. Yes this strange, yellow, alien-like thing is a vegetable – a summer squash to be exact and a member of the same family as courgettes, butternut squash and pumpkins. My first reaction upon seeing it in my veg box a few weeks ago was – has a flying sauce crash-landed into my cardboard box?

Much research told me it could be cooked in a similar way to many of the squash family but was more like a courgette in taste.

I have to tell you now it was neither unctuous and sweet like a squash nor refreshing and tasty like a courgette – I found it a bit boring to be honest. So what is the point of this post? Well out of this research came quite a delicious meal.

I concluded the best way to cook it would be to stuff it and for filling I plumped for a risotto with some of the scooped out petty pan and some of its cousin the courgette.

The baked petty pan was ok, but the risotto was a triumph. So much so that I cooked it again for Will (who doesn’t usually like risotto) minus the petty pan casing and it went down very well indeed.

Petty pan stuffed with delicious courgette risotto

Note: I don’t use white wine, as many do, in a risotto as one: I don’t personally like the flavour it gives the dish that much and two: as red wine drinkers we don’t ever have any in the house. If you do like to add some wine before adding the first ladle full of stock go ahead.

 

Courgette risotto (serves 2)

200g Arborio rice

1 litre of chicken stock (you might need a little more water depending on the brand of rice you use)

One large or two small courgettes, sliced into rounds then each rounds into quarters.

Small knob of unsalted butter

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Zest of one lemon

Handful of fresh basil

Small amount of freshly grated parmesan

 

1. Fry the onion slowly in the butter, with a splash of olive oil to stop it burning. Then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more.
2. Add the rice to the pan and stir around in the flavoured oil, then add you first ladle of hot stock.
3. Continue as you usually would with a risotto gradually add the hot stock and the rice absorbs it and stirring regularly to release the starches (thus making the risotto nice and creamy). It will take at least 20 minutes.
4. After about 15 minutes put a separate pan or griddle on, drizzle the courgette pieces in olive oil, salt and pepper and fry quickly until they go brown but still retaining some bite.
5. Add the courgettes to the risotto. Taste to check the rice is soft. Once it is soft enough add lemon zest, the roughly chopped basil and parmesan. Stir and serve.

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Dipping my toe into seasonal cooking

It’s a bit late to be jumping on the seasonal food band wagon and probably even later to be writing about veg boxes. We’re all at it. Prancing around telling people how marvellous it is to have seasonal produce brought straight to your door. Waltzing past the neighbours carrying a cardboard box laden with frilly greens and giant roots. Chatting to the veg delivery man at the door about how wonderful last week’s purple sprouting broccoli was. But I have to say I’m pretty new to it and I’m writing this to convince others that people on a budget can afford local, seasonal organic food.
I’m on my third week of a permanent order for a fruitit and veg box from Riverford Organic and so far I am loving it. Just £15 gets me a medium sized box that is packed with top quality produce, which is the perfect amount for me and Will.
I have to say I have joined at the least exciting time of the year, they call March-May the ‘hungry gap’, because stored vegetables have run out and the new seedlings haven’t grown yet, so half of the items each week have been imported (from reputable suppliers, still organic, and not air freighted can I point out). I am positively bursting with anticipation for June when we will have summer berries, courgettes, spinach and all sorts of other delights.
This week for example I got about seven apples, four large oranges, a bunch of six bananas, two lots of celery, a large cauliflower, beautiful vine tomatoes, a bag of mixed lettuce leaves, four leeks, a big bag of absolutely delicious purple sprouting broccoli, a huge bunch of swiss chard and the very best bit an EXTRA item – wild garlic picked from the woods.
So far this week Will and I have had for dinner: Salmon steamed with Asian spices and coconut milk with a large side serving of ‘spiced greens’ (using the chard and some of the purple sprouting, plus some frozen peas), vegetable curry (using the cauliflower, onions left from last week’s box, and some added sweet potato) and stir-fry of prawns and purple sprouting broccoli in ginger, garlic and oyster sauce (the broccoli is divine stir-fried) with homemade egg-fried rice. Tomorrow I plan to have a large mixed salad with hard boiled eggs and steamed Jersey Royals and on Thursday a summer vegetable minestrone with the celery, tomatoes, onion, left over Jersey Royals, the leeks and anything else I can find. Plus there was also enough for a large batch of cauliflower cheese soup, which Will is going to take to work for lunches and plenty of salad for my sandwiches.
So after that marathon of food you can’t dispute that a veg box is value for money. Riverford regularly do price comparisons with supermarkets and come out on top and let’s not forget delivery cuts down on carbon emissions, the produce has a lower carbon footprint, soon nearly all of the produce will be from the West Country, there is very little packaging and the packaging that there is can be recycled or given back to Riverford to use again. There is no looking back now I am part of the veg box clan, join us! By the way I don’t work for Riverford, there are plenty of other great box schemes such as the nationwide Abel and Coles and smaller localised ones.

Below is a recipe that came in my bag of delicious wild garlic and was a beautiful way to enjoy the subtle yet pungent taste of wild garlic. I have very roughly halved it so the recipe is for two people.

Wild Garlic Risotto
Half an onion, finely chopped
One clove of garlic, finely chopped
150g risotto rice (Arborio)
1 litre of chicken stock, heated and kept on a gas ring (I used around ¾ of the stock)
Knob of butter
Good handful of wild garlic leaves, shredded (not too thin)
Couple of handfuls of grated parmesan
Optional half glass of white wine (I hate white wine so don’t use it)

1. Fry onion and garlic very gently in olive oil or butter until very soft but not coloured. Thrown in the rice and coat in all the yummy oiliness.
2. At this stage you could add some wine and let it sizzle away. If not add your first ladle of stock and stir to make the grains really rich. Continue in this way, adding stock and stirring to encourage the starch to come out of the grain.
3. After about 10 minutes add the wild garlic leaves. Keep adding stock until the grains are soft but still have a bite to them.
4. Stir in the butter and parmesan and serve will there is still a bit of sloppiness to the risotto. Decorate with wild garlic leaves.

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