The Food Diaries

Saffron Risotto (alla Milanese)

This classic Northern Italian dish is lovely and golden - made even richer by replacing some of the butter which is traditionally added right at the end of cooking with some beef marrow (scooped out of the bone and stirred in directly). Or you can just stick to the butter if you can’t get a hold of the bones are a little squeamish about it.

The quantities below serves 2 as a starter course.

In a thick-bottomed pan, fry 1 shallot and1 garlic clove, finely chopped, with a knob of butter, on a medium-low heat till well-softened, but not brown (about 5 minutes). Raise the temperature to medium, stir in 1/2 cup (100g) risotto rice (my current favourite is the age, organic Aquerello carnaroli variety, but either arborio or regular carnaroli will do). Add 1/2 cup (125ml) white wine, and a few crumpled threads of saffron and reduce down.

Now start adding some hot chicken stock (350ml in total), one ladleful at a time, waiting each time for the liquid to be absorbed. When the risotto rice has lost most of its bite, but is not completely cooked through stir in either a 1-2 tbs chopped beef marrow or a knob of butter. Take off the heat, add a final small ladleful of the stock to loosen the rice, and some grated parmesan. Adjust the seasoning with some sea salt and freshly ground pepper and cover. Wait a couple of minutes (but not longer!) before serving with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

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Curry Nights: Indian Nut Pulao

In a large pan heat 1 tbs rapeseed oil and fry 1 onion and 1 garlic clove, finely chopped with 1 large carrot, grated. After about 3-5 minutes stir in 1 cup basmati rice (brown or white), 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp black mustard seeds, 4 green cardamom pods and 1 bay leaf. Add 2 cups vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and cardamom pods and stir in 3/4 cup toasted cashew nuts, and season with sea salt and pepper.

Notes:

If using white basmati rice it helps to soak the grains in water for 20-30 minutes before cooking.

This is a mild curried rice so feel free to add some fresh, chopped red chili peppers to taste.

Serve as a side dish or as a vegetarian main course along with some raita or natural yogurt, some nan bread, and a mango chutney on the side.

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KEDGEREE >

The Breakfast Club: Kedgeree with a poached egg on top

In a pot place 1 cup brown basmati rice with 2 cups water, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered. Meanwhile, place a 250g fillet of smoked haddock in a pan and just cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the fish from the pan (retain the water for later), remove the skin, and flake. Slowly fry 1 large shallot (or small onion) in a little butter till softened. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tbs curry powder. Stir around briefly and remove from heat. Poach 2-3 eggs(this recipe serves 2-3, so count 1 egg per person). I love these poach pods.

Now add the fish, the shallot, 1/2 cup frozen peas, and the juice of 1 lemon to the rice. You can moisten the mixture with the cooking water from the fish to loosen the rice (it should be quite unctious), and finish with 1 tbs cream and a seasoning of sea salt and pepper.

Serve with the poached egg on top.

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Risotto with saffron from Casole D’Elsa and liquorice powder @ La Suvera, Tuscany

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At the Bigonge Bar in Prato, Italy (just outside of Florence).

Stuffed Courgette Flowers

Fry a small, finely chopped onion in a little olive oil till soft and transparent. Now add a handful of pinenuts, and stir till golden. Add a handful of chopped currants, a sprinkling of cinnamon and cumin, 1 tbs honey, and moisten it all with a 1/4 cup vegetable stock. Stir in 1 1/2 cup cooked rice, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.

Lightly wash 12 courgette flowers (with or without the courgettes attached) and then stuff with the rice mixture (about 1 tbs per flower). Fold over a couple of the petals to seal in the rice and then twist the remaining petals together, tuck under and place on an oiled baking tray. Drizzle the stuffed flowers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for around 10-15 minutes at 180 till crisp and golden.

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Nettle risotto

After having been inspired by the nettle risotto I recently had in Italy I had the opportunity to reproduce my own when I found some nettles on a recent trip to Scotland. Be very careful with nettles as they sting quite badly. I used a pair of scissors to snip off the leaves into a bowl.

I tried Giorgio Locatelli’s recipe (see below) which can be halved if serving 4-6 people as a starter.

To make it, you need: two big handfuls of young nettle leaves (set a few aside for the garnish); 2.5 litres vegetable stock; 50g butter; one onion, very finely chopped; 400g Vialone Nano rice; 125ml dry white wine; salt and pepper; 75g cold butter, cut into cubes; 100g Parmesan, grated.

Blanch the nettles in salted boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and put into a food processor. Pulse to a purée, adding a little water if needed to keep it on the loose side. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Melt 50g of butter in a heavy-based pan, add the onion, and cook gently until translucent. Add the rice and stir both to coat it in the butter and to “toast” the grains. Make sure all the rice is warm, then add the wine. Let the wine evaporate until the onion and rice are nearly dry, then add stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly, each time waiting for the liquid to evaporate before adding the next ladle.

After about 10 minutes, add the nettle purée, and carry on cooking, adding stock as you go, until the rice is soft but still al dente (with bite) - the risotto shouldn’t be too “soupy” otherwise, when you add the butter and Parmesan, it will end up too sloppy. Turn down the heat, allow it to rest for a couple of minutes, then, using a wooden spoon, beat in the cold cubed butter and Parmesan. Season and serve garnished with a fried or oven-dried nettle leaf.

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Pink risotto with ripe summer tomatoes

This recipe works brilliantly when summer tomatoes are at their ripest (and most abundant). The key to maintaining the fresh flavours is to add the raw tomatoes right at the end of the cooking - and try not to scrounge too much on the quantity of tomatoes!

(the ingredients below are per person)

Peel and deseed 450g/1lb ripe tomatoes, straining the seeds and juice through a sieve into a bowl. Dice the tomatoes, sprinkle with sea salt and place in the sieve over the same bowl. Let the juices drip through (this will take about an hour), occasionally delicately stir the diced tomatoes to release more juice.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan, add a quarter peeled red onion, finely chopped and stir till softened. Add 1 small finely chopped garlic clove and stir again. Now add around 1/3 cup (70g) carnaroli or arborio rice and stir for a couple of minutes. Add a 1/4 cup white wine and let reduce completely. Now start adding some of the tomato juice, little by little till the liquid gets absorbed. When you have run out of the juice start adding vegetable or chicken stock which has been kept simmering on the stove (you will need about 1/2 cup).

When the rice is nearly done (i.e. al dente - so with still a bite to the grains of rice), turn off the heat, add the chopped tomatoes, and a handful of grated parmesan. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with a handful of small basil leaves and some freshly ground pepper.

Optional: a few flakes of chilli pepper and/or 1 tbs of thick cream or marscapone can be added with the tomatoes.

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La Costa Restaurant in the heart of the Italian Lombardia region - Agriturismo at its best

Agritourism in Italy tends to focus on farm stays, most often tied to restaurants or reception spaces housed in converted barns. La Costa, a DOC wine producer located in Perego, which sits in the centre of the picturesque and mountainous triangle between Lake Como to the north, Milan to the south-west and Bergamo to the south east is a wonderful example of an “agriturismo”, offering lovely wines, simple yet elegant food, in beautiful surroundings.

I didn’t stay long enough to enjoy one of their rooms for an overnight stay - which is a shame as the views of the surrounding hills and countryside are magnificent, and Como is just a short drive away. Who needs Tuscany?

Red and white quinoa salad with lemon, feta and asparagus

In a pot place 1 cup of quinoa (red or white or combine the two) cover with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered for about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and continue to steam till all the water has been absorbed.

In the meantime, grill 200g asparagus spears which have been drizzled with olive oil till just under-done, and then chop into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Finely chop a yellow pepper (cored and deseeded) and add to the bowl. Now add the cooked quinoa and 75g crumbled feta cheese (low-fat versions work just as well). Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon, season with sea salt and pepper, and stir altogether. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

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Crab Pilau with coconut milk

Heat 1tbs rapeseed oil in a pot with 1tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp white mustard seeds, 1tsp coriander seeds and stir for 1 minute till the seeds start to pop. Now add 1 finely chopped shallot (large) or onion (small) 1 garlic clove finely chopped and 1 tsp of grated ginger, and stir over medium heat till softened. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1 cup (175g) basmati rice (I like to use brown basmati) and stir for a minute or so. Add 150ml low fat coconut milk, 1 fresh green (or red) chili finely chopped, and 1/2 tsp salt and top up with about 350ml water. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. About 8 minutes in add a large handful of green veggies (chopped asparagus, frozen peas, baby spinach). Turn off heat and leave to steam for another 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed (brown rice might take a little longer). Fluff with a fork and stir in one can of crab meat (120g drained) and some chopped chives.

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Summer salad season begins - with Rice & Tuna Salad

In a salad bowl mix together 3 cups cooked brown basmati rice, 1 can of best quality tuna (look out for either French, Italian, or Spanish brands where the tuna has been poached in olive oil) mixed with 2 tbs mayonnaise, 4 finely chopped white anchovies, 1/4 chopped black olives, 1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbs olive oil, 1/4 chopped pistachios, salt and pepper.

Serve with half a dozen boiled and halved quail’s eggs sprinkled with paprika (or a couple regular eggs quartered will do fine), 1 sliced avocado and a large handful of lamb’s lettuce.

Note: this salad is best eaten if it hasn’t been refrigerated and is served at room temperature - i.e. to match a warm summer day.

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Return of the Red Camargue Rice Salad with Feta

Here’s another take on a red rice salad and I think more successful than my previous attempt. The main difference is that I used more long grain rice proportionate to the red rice and I used some lovely grilled pimientos and chopped mint for a fresher taste.

Fry up a finely chopped medium onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil till transparent. Add 1/4 cup red rice and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice and stir till well coated. Add 1 1/2 cups of water (or a nice vegetable stock), cover and simmer till all the water has been absorbed. Mix together one crushed garlic clove (though I prefer to pound it to a paste using a mortar and pestle for a less sharp flavour), 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs Greek yogurt, 1 tbs green tapenade, 3 small grilled and peeled pimientos finely chopped/crushed (I find the kind find in a jar perfectly suitable, from Spain or Chile) , and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm rice and mix well. Crumble some feta cheese on top, sprinkle with sumac and chopped mint and serve.

Red Camargue Rice Salad with Feta

Grown in the marshy region of the South of France at the mouth of Rhône delta called the Camargue (famous for its wild white horses, pink flamingos, and black bulls), this rice is a hybrid of cultivated and wild rice, and has a lovely nutty flavour. Relatively easy to find nowadays in good supermarkets, I particularly like red rice in salads or pilafs (really lovely with mushrooms) - check out the Waitrose recipe collection for ideas.

Here’s my take on a red rice salad:

Fry up a finely chopped medium onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil till transparent. Add 1/2 cup red rice and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice and stir till well coated. Add 2 cups of water (or I like a mushroom stock), cover and simmer till all the water has been absorbed. Mix together one crushed garlic clove (though I prefer to pound it to a paste using a mortar and pestle for a less sharp flavour), 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm rice and mix well. Crumble some feta cheese on top, sprinkle with sumac and chopped mint and serve.

Optional: add a tablespoon or two of green tapenade for a slightly sharper taste, some chopped roasted hazelnuts or pistachio for a bit of crunch, some chopped grilled and peeled red peppers (a good store-bought jar is a really good option) for sweetness.