Basic Risotto (for Nikki)

approx 1 litre stock
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g/14oz risotto rice
2 wine glasses of dry white vermouth or dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g/2½oz butter
115g/4oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese

You need two pans for this. Heat the stock in one pan. In the other, heat the olive oil and butter, add the onions and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. When the onion and garlic have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat. Keep stirring.  After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Check the seasoning. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes.