Recipes / 25 January, 2017 / My Baba

Anna Barnett’s Green Pepper Risotto

Ingredients:

• 500g Alborio rice
• A good glug of olive oil
• 1 large knob of butter
• 1 white onion – finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves – crushed and finely chopped
• A generous sprinkle of sea salt
• 300ml white wine (ideally make sure it’s half decent)
• 700-800ml vegetable stock

For the pesto:

• 1 green pepper – centre removed and roughly chopped into chunks
• 2 garlic cloves
• 50g basil leaves
• 100g finely grated parmesan
• 150g pistachios
• 3-4 generous glugs of extra virgin olive oil
• A sprinkle of salt
• A generous sprinkle of white pepper

To serve:

• A handful of mint leaves – picked from the stalk
• 40g finely grated parmesan
• A sprinkle of extra fresh ground black pepper
• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Method:

• Begin by adding the olive oil, butter, garlic and onion to a pan. Cook over a low heat for around 10 minutes so the onions and garlic soften and begin to turn sweet.
• Next, add in the rice and increase the heat slightly to ensure that all sides of the rice are coated in the butter and oil. Allow to cook for a minute or two, while stirring to ensure the rice doesn’t stick to the pan.
• Add in the wine and stir, cooking over a medium to low heat (again not allowing the rice to stick at all).
• Once the rice has absorbed the wine you can begin to add in the vegetable stock. Do this in small batches, a ladle at a time. This will take around 12-15 minutes. Tip: Don’t add the next batch of stock until the rice has absorbed the last. Make sure you keep checking that the rice still has a bit of a bite to it; you don’t want to overcook it.
• To make the green pepper and pistachio pesto prepare all ingredients as noted then blitz in a food processor until you have a smooth paste. You can also muddle into a paste using a pestle and mortar starting with the harder ingredients first. Have a taste and adjust seasoning or add more oil to loosen if necessary.
• Once your risotto rice has absorbed all the stock and has a good consistency to it (you’re aiming for it to be slightly al dente and definitely not too sloppy), you’re ready to serve so then you can add in your pesto mix. If you need to add in some extra liquid once you’ve used all your stock to loosen it slightly, hot water will do – just a small dash at a time. Tip: Only add in your pesto mix at the very last minute so you retain the vibrant green colour.
• Take a small frying pan and add several glugs of oil, heat and then add in the mint leaves. Fry for 30 seconds or so. The oil is hot enough when the leaves fizz immediately on adding them. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen towel.
• Serve the risotto with an extra handful of grated parmesan, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, some freshly ground black pepper, and a scattering of crispy fried mint. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Vogue.co.uk