Gorgonzola and Leek Risotto

The garden is covered with golden brown leaves, the wind is whistling through every crack and crevice in the house and I can finally get back to wearing my beloved boots, hats and gloves - yes, it's autumn and I love it. It also means that I can start making risotto again; I know there are summery risotto recipes out there but really, for me, it's a cold weather dish.

This one, creamy with gorgonzola, is perfect for these increasingly dark evenings. Make it when you've got the kitchen to yourself - then switch on the lights, pour yourself a glass of wine and watch the wild weather outside from your warm, cosy haven, whilst stirring the risotto and contemplating life.

I am sending this to Speedy Suppers, the blog challenge hosted by Sarah at Maison Cupcake and Katie at Feeding Boys, as the theme this month is cheese.

I am also entering my risotto (with extra leeks) into Extra Veg, a blog challenge run by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle (Utterly Scrummy) and hosted this month by Emily from A Mummy Too. 

RECIPE

Serves 2 generously

2 leeks

50g butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 glass dry white wine

1 litre hot vegetable stock

250g carnaroli or arborio rice

120g Gorgonzola

10g parmesan, grated

Chop the leeks very finely. Melt the butter with the oil in a wide saucepan, add the leeks and cook gently until softened, being careful not to colour them as leeks can turn very bitter if they start to brown.

When the leeks are soft, tip in the rice and stir well so that all the grains are coated in the buttery juices. Turn up the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Keep stirring until it is absorbed.

Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, making sure it is all absorbed before adding the next, stirring all the while to make sure the rice doesn't start to stick.

The rice should be cooked after about 18 minutes (it should still have a slight 'bite' to it). You might not need all the stock or you may need a little more (you could just add boiling water).

Add the blue cheese, roughly crumbling it in and stirring so that it melts into the risotto. You can also beat in the parmesan at this point or you can sprinkle it over just before eating if you prefer.

Risotto ai funghi

To my mind, mushroom risotto heralds the start of autumn and although there are a still a few days to go until summer officially ends, the crisp, bright mornings, the dark evenings and the golden leaves falling from my silver birch tree have instilled in me a 'mists and mellow fruitfulness' kind of mood. It was either risotto-making or putting away my summer clothes and I don't feel quite ready to take that step yet.

Risotto ai funghi is an Italian classic. The best versions are made with the king of mushrooms, fresh porcini, which are coming into season right now. They have an incredibly rich, aromatic, almost meaty flavour that is vigorous enough to withstand a fair amount of cooking. However, while I would love to be able to say that this risotto was made with porcini that I picked on a walk in the woods yesterday, it would not be true. I have never yet found any in this area but I am convinced that they do grow here as conditions are surely perfect. There is no need to despair however as a delicious risotto can be made with a combination of dried porcini (which you can fortunately buy everywhere) and some fresh chestnut mushrooms added towards the end of the cooking time.

I always have a packet of dried porcini in the larder as their intense mushroomy flavour not only makes a fantastic risotto but also adds instant 'umami' to a whole variety of sauces and stews. The other ingredient that turns this risotto into something special is a porcini stock cube. I hardly ever use stock cubes but I make an exception for these (dadi Star ai Funghi Porcini) as they add a real punchy flavour. I usually stock up when I'm in Italy because they are not easy to find in the UK but happily, Carluccio's has recently started selling them.

I'm sending this to Katie Bryson from the lovely blog Feeding boys and a firefighter, who is this month's host of the Simple and In Season challenge, the brainchild of Ren at Fabulicious Food.

RECIPE

Serves 2 generously

1 shallot (or half an onion), finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

30g dried porcini mushrooms

50g butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 glass dry white wine

1 litre mushroom stock (made with porcini stock cube, see above)

250g carnaroli or arborio rice

200-250g chestnut mushrooms

generous grating of fresh parmesan

Put the dried mushrooms to soften in a jug of warm water for about half an hour.

Take the mushrooms out of the water (but make sure you don't throw it away as you will need it later on) and rinse them well, making sure there are no tiny particles of grit or soil left lurking in any crevasses. Chop them roughly but don't make them too small. Filter the mushroom water by pouring it through a sieve lined with a sheet of kitchen towel. You can add this to the stock.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and the knob of butter in a pan and add the finely chopped shallot and garlic. Cook over a gentle heat until soft, making sure they do not start to burn. Add the dried porcini mushrooms and carry on cooking for a few minutes.

Tip in the rice and stir well so that all the grains are coated in the buttery juices. Turn up the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Keep stirring until it is absorbed.

Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, making sure it is all absorbed before adding the next, stirring all the while to make sure the rice doesn't start to stick.

In the meantime, roughly chop the chestnut mushrooms and fry in a separate pan with a little oil until golden brown.

The rice should be cooked after about 18-20 minutes (it should still have a slight 'bite' to it). You might not need all the stock or you may need a little more (you could just add boiling water). Stir in the cooked chestnut mushrooms at this point.

Add a generous knob of butter, stirring all the time so that it melts into the risotto and the texture becomes creamy. You can also beat in the parmesan at this point or you can sprinkle it over just before eating if you prefer.

A dish for St. David's Day - Risotto with leeks and Perl las

The daffodils are out, classrooms are full of singing children and the Red Dragons are flying high, all of which can only mean one thing - it's St. David's Day (and we're doing rather well in the Six Nations rugby).

In previous years, living in Italy, I tried to celebrate St. David's Day with some Welsh feasting but while Brains SA and Penderyn whisky have always gone down very well with the Italian side of the family, my efforts at making some traditional dishes of Wales have not met with the same success. It is perhaps better to draw a line under the Welsh faggots (made from pig's liver) incident; suffice to say that the meal did not tempt GL to delve further into 'Cuisine Cymraeg'.

So this year, I'm taking the 'Entente Cordiale' approach, using Welsh flavours and ingredients to make a very Italian risotto. Leeks, the national vegetable and symbol of Wales form the base of the risotto, and Perl Las, a Welsh blue cheese is added at the end. Both sides of the Italo/Welsh alliance are satisfied.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus.

RECIPE

Serves 2 generously

2 leeks

50g butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 glass dry white wine

1 litre vegetable stock

250g carnaroli or arborio rice

120g Perl Las or other blue cheese (Gorgonzola is used in Italy)

10g parmesan, grated

Chop the leeks very finely. Melt the butter with the oil in a wide saucepan, add the leeks and cook gently until softened, being careful not to colour them as leeks can turn very bitter if they start to brown.

When the leeks are soft, tip in the rice and stir well so that all the grains are coated in the buttery juices. Turn up the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Keep stirring until it is absorbed.

Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, making sure it is all absorbed before adding the next, stirring all the while to make sure the rice doesn't start to stick.

The rice should be cooked after about 18-20 minutes (it should still have a slight 'bite' to it). You might not need all the stock or you may need a little more (you could just add boiling water).

Add the blue cheese, roughly crumbling it in and stirring so that it melts into the risotto. You can also beat in the parmesan at this point or you can sprinkle it over just before eating if you prefer.