A truly delicious & satisfying meal. Italian food is one of our favourite cuisines - the ingredients & flavours are delightful!
Risotto is an incredibly delicious one pan meal and is also very versatile. The ingredients can be tweaked to suit your mood or diet.
We've made a variety of different flavoured risottos, however this may be our favourite, so-far.
One pot meals are fantastic - less washing-up is always a welcomed bonus.
Let's delve into this recipe...
Happy Cooking!
The Chai Home 😋
INGREDIENTS
Serves 5-6
2 & 1/2 Cups of Arborio Rice
465g Of Italian Sausage (we like chipolata sized) cut into 1cm slices
250g Of Streaky Bacon - cut into 1cm slices
3x Leeks - including the greens - finely diced
2x Courgettes - cut into halves lengthways & halved again and then finely diced
3x Large Cloves of Garlic - crushed & finely diced
1 & 1/2 Cups of finely grated Parmesan (compacted) - Plus extra for serving (optional)
180g Of Red Pesto
Large pinch of White Pepper
2x large pinches of Black Pepper
Pinch of Sea Salt
2x tsp Of Garlic Powder
2x Heaped tsp of Sweet Paprika
1x tbsp of Mixed Italian Herbs
3x tbsp of Olive Oil
Approximately 1.3 Litres of Boiled Water
METHOD
Preheat an XL stainless steel frying pan (we use a 2.9 litre pan) on high. Once hot add your oil and swirl it around the pan for about 30 seconds.
Add your diced sausage and bacon and brown off for a few minutes.
Be sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Add the leeks, courgettes & garlic and mix together.
Add in all of the seasonings & herbs and evenly mix through.
Cook on a medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes - stirring occasionally.
Turn to a medium-low heat.
Add the risotto rice and mix well ensuring to coat the rice in all of the oil and seasonings.
Completely cover in boiled water (approx 1/2 - 3/4 of the water) and bring to a slight simmer. You don't want it boiling.
Stir and keep a watchful eye on it. Be sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Once about 1/4 of the water has absorbed, go ahead and add the rest of the boiled water and stir.
After approx 15- 20 minutes of cooking the rice, and the majority of the water has absorbed, test the texture of the rice to see if it's cooked. The rice should be a perfect al dente texture (you want a little moisture to the rice, you do not want it to be bone dry like regular rice).
Do not over cook, as it will turn the rice soft and stodgy.
When it's reached the perfect texture, thoroughly stir through the red pesto and then turn off the heat.
Now add the parmesan and mix it through until the heat melts the cheese.
Serve, sprinkle with some parmesan and enjoy.
DELICIOUS!