Three Cheese Risotto Recipes

Steps:

• Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large, shallow saucepan, add the onion and garlic, and cook for 5-10 mins until soft. Add the risotto rice and cook for 2-3 mins, getting a good covering in the fats and giving the rice a slightly toasted flavour.
• Add the white wine and cook until it has reduced away. Add the warm chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, and stir into the rice - when it has been absorbed, add more. You may not need to add all the stock, but keep adding until the rice is cooked al dente. It will take around 15 mins to get the risotto to the right consistency.
• Take the rice pan off the heat and stir in the cheeses, season and leave to rest for 3-4 mins. Serve with the roasted poussins, morel sauce and some wilted Baby Gem lettuce leaves.

Steps:

• In a large pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion, salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes, or until the onions are slightly soft. Add the stock and garlic.
• Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 6 minutes. Add the rice and simmer for 18 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the mixture is creamy and bubbly. Add the butter, cream, cheese and chives.
• Reseason with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft but not browned. Stir in the rice, mixing well until the grains are well coated with butter.
• Stir in a small amount of stock and cook gently until it has been absorbed by the rice. Continue adding a little stock at a time, stirring now and then to prevent the rice from sticking to the base of the pan. This should take about 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked but not mushy - you may not need all of the stock.
• Stir in the parsley, basil and all three cheeses. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave the rice to rest for 5 minutes. Serve.

Steps:

• If you want to make the cheese crust, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Season the cheese with the cracked black pepper and scatter evenly over a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Bake for 8-10 mins or until golden, then set aside to cool. Break into shards. Will keep in an airtight container for up to two days.
• Put the stock and parmesan or grana padano rinds in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Melt one third of the butter in a large, shallow saucepan, add the onion and fry gently over a low heat for 8-10 mins or until soft but still white. If the onions look dry at any point add a touch more butter to the pan.
• Stir the rice into the onions, turn the heat up slightly and cook for 3 mins, stirring until the rice is coated in butter and turns a pearly translucent white. Pour in the wine and stir for about 2 mins until the alcohol has evaporated.
• Add a ladleful of the simmering stock to the rice and stir well until absorbed, then continue the process. The rice should be bubbling gently and each addition should be mostly absorbed before more stock is added. After 15-20 mins the rice should be tender with a slight chalky bite. The overall consistency should be saucy but not sloppy - you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you draw a spoon through it.
• Take the pan off the heat and leave to stand for a minute, then vigorously stir in the remaining butter followed by the mascarpone, gruyère and parmesan, then stir with enough vigour that you hear the rice slapping against the side of the pan. Keep on stirring until the butter and cheese have melted together and the stock is thick and oozing. Serve the risotto ladled into warm bowls, topped with the shards of cheese crust and a drizzle of truffle oil, if using, plus a good grinding of black pepper.

Steps:

• In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes, or until the onions are slightly soft. Add the stock and garlic. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 6 minutes. Add the rice and simmer for 18 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the mixture is creamy and bubbly. Add the butter, cream, cheese and chives. Reseason with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sauce:
• In a medium saucepot, over medium heat, combine the wine, shallots, and garlic and bring to a simmer. Add the basil, cloves, and bay leaf, and let simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. When reduced, add the chicken stock, and continue to simmer until reduced by half. Strain into another sauce pan and stir in the butter. Season the mixture with salt, and pepper, to taste. Keep warm.
• Chicken:
• Season the chicken lightly with salt, and pepper, to taste. Lay 4 slices of bacon crosswise on a cutting board with the slices slightly overlapping. Put a chicken breast on top of the bacon. Bring the bacon slices up and around the chicken so the entire breast is wrapped. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and bacon.
• In a large oven-proof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Get the pan and oil hot, and then add the bacon-wrapped chicken and cook until the bacon is crispy on both sides, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 18 minutes.
• Salad:
• Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Season the salad with salt, and pepper, to taste. Put the arugula and fennel into a large bowl and toss until well coated.
• Scoop some risotto nicely into the center or each plate, making sure it has some height so the chicken can stand up. Cut the chicken on a bias and put on top of the risotto. Drizzle some of the red wine sauce around the plate and directly over the chicken. Top each plate with some arugula salad and serve.
• Serving suggestion: Three Cheese Creamy Risotto, recipe follows.
• Heat a large pot (wider is better than taller) over medium heat and add the olive oil and pancetta. Cook the pancetta until it begins to crisp, and then add the garlic and shallots. Cook the shallots and garlic until they begin to brown in color. Add the rice and stir well to coat. Cook the rice for 1 minute.
• Add wine and stir well. Stir the rice until the wine is almost completely absorbed. Add in some chicken stock until rice is just covered and stir again until the stock is absorbed into the rice. Continue to gradually add the stock, stirring well after each addition, until the rice is cooked through, but still has a bite. You may not use all of the stock.
• When rice is cooked, stir in the cheeses and basil. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Season with salt, and pepper, to taste. The risotto should be smooth, creamy, rich, and delicious.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat as low as possible to keep the stock warm until you are ready to use it.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive skillet at least 10 inches wide, toast the barley over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until it smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Transfer the toasted barley to a small bowl and set aside.
• In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leek and garlic and sauté for 1 minute until the leek starts to soften.
• Add the barley and Arborio rice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, to coat the rice. Add the white wine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the wine is almost absorbed. Ladle 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the hot stock over the rice. Stir frequently until all of the liquid is absorbed and a stirring spoon leaves a trail showing where it ran across the bottom of the pot. Ladle in an additional 1 1/2 cups of liquid and stir until the liquid is absorbed.
• Add the orzo and continue adding stock until the grains are al dente, about 30 minutes total. If you prefer a softer risotto, add more stock until it has the desired consistency. (You might not use all the stock.)
• Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Parmesan until it is melted and completely incorporated. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately, topping each portion with a dollop of fresh goat cheese.