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This is my recipe which is a combination of different risotto’s from Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo. It goes great with my langoustines and shallots.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 litres stock, chicken, fish or vegetable as appropriate
• 1 onion or 3 shallots finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 60 g butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 finger of celery (vert finely chopped)
• 400 g Arborio Risotto rice
• 150ml dry white vermouth or dry white wine
• 1 Cup freshly grated parmesan
• salt to taste
• ground pepper, preferably white
• zest of 1 lemon (I made the zest by slicing the rind off the lemon and didn’t use a zester so it would be considerably lemonier) and juice of a half (optional)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped (optional)
• 4 tablespoons (60ml) double cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat the stock. In a separate pan
2. Finely chop the shallots and the celery
3. Heat the olive oil and half the butter until butter is melted (medium heat)
4. Add onions, garlic and celery, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes until translucent and without coloring. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
5. The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring.
6. Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.
7. Pour a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. Continue.
   • This will take around 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat.
   • Add stock over time – not too wet, not too dry and continually stir.
   • Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
8. When the risotto is ready – the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite – Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice (Optional), parmesan, cream (Optional), rosemary (Optional) and pepper, and the remaining butter and salt to taste.
9. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for about 3 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes creamy and oozy like it should be.
10. Serve in bowl with additional grated parmesan and sprinkle with olive oil. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.

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