Leek, cheddar cheese & lemon Risotto
Prep time: 5 – 10 minutes / Cooking time: 45 minutes
This recipe is vegetarian
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS:
50g butter
1 small white onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 leeks, thoroughly washed & diced small
400g risotto rice
1.5 litres of vegetable stock
1 lemon, juiced
150g cheddar cheese, grated
Salt & pepper to taste
METHOD:
1. Make the vegetable stock: bring a saucepan with 1.5 litres of water to the boil, when starts boiling add 2 stock cubes and mix well until dissolved. You will need the stock to be hot when using it for the risotto so bring it down to a low simmer to keep it hot.
2. In a large saucepan (non-stick is ideal but not essential) melt the butter on medium heat. When the butter is beginning to froth add the finely diced onion & crushed garlic and cook on low to medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. You do not want any colour in the onion so if it starts to colour you need to turn down the heat.
3. Add the diced leeks and cook for another 5 minutes, again you do not want any colour.
4. Next add the rice and mix well to make sure that every grain is well coated with the butter.
5. Now is time to start adding the stock. This is a slow process: add one ladle of hot stock to the rice at a time and stir often. Once that ladle of stock has been absorbed add another ladle of stock and do the same as before. Repeat this process until you have used all the stock or the rice is cooked. The rice should be ‘al dente’, meaning that it should have a slight bite to it.
6. To finish the risotto add the grated cheddar cheese and juice of the lemon (do not add all the lemon all at once, a little bit at the time and taste it to see if it needs more). Give it a good stir to make sure that the cheese has all melted.
7. Spoon the risotto into bowls and serve.
TIPS:
Cooking risotto cannot be rushed. It can seem a slow process and patience is needed. Do not worry though because your patience will pay off when you end up with a super tasty dish.
Risotto needs to be eaten straight after is cooked otherwise it will become super stodgy.
Usually risottos are made with parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano, an Italian hard cheese made from cow’s milk that is only be made in a specific region of Italy). Feel free to also try this recipe using parmesan cheese, perhaps just use a smaller amount because parmesan is very strong in flavour.
Risotto can be deceiving, a portion that looks small once you start eating it can be very filling. If you would like to serve it with something else I would recommend a simple side salad or perhaps a side of vegetables.
A splash of white wine works really well in risottos. If you have any available add 100ml of white wine to the rice in the pan, before you start adding any of the stock. Wait until the rice has absorbed all the wine and then start adding the stock.
If you would like to add some meat to it, in this case chicken is the way to go. Cut some chicken breast into bite size pieces. Add it with the onion in the beginning and follow the rest of the steps as usual. Then, I would also swap the vegetable stock to chicken stock for extra flavour.
Instead of the leeks you could use some peas. Just add them when you start adding the stock to the rice, if you add them sooner they will be too overcooked at the end.
If have any in your fridge, a splash of cream in the risotto towards the end of cooking gives it this really creamy, silky flavour that is amazing.
You can make this recipe vegan by using olive oil instead of butter & vegan cheese instead of cheddar.
