February 14th Not everyone’s Valentine’s Day will be filled with chocolates and roses. It can be a hard day for many people and when you’re feeling low, it’s tough to motivate yourself so do something nice for yourself. Light a candle (the one you bought but have been saving for a ‘special occasion’) read your book (give yourself time to read that extra chapter) or take yourself off on a stroll (walking that route you never take because although it’s beautiful, it always takes a little bit too long) And most importantly, cook something unctuous and delicious (a recipe that requires a bit of time and patience).
This is comfort food when you may need it most.
Mushroom risotto
- 1 handful of chestnut mushrooms
- OPTIONAL dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 sticks celery – finely diced
- 1 white onion, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 200g risotto rice
- Splash of white wine (save a glass for yourself)
- 1 pint stock (chicken/vegetable, whatever takes your fancy)
- Parmesan cheese
- Knob of butter (cold, to be stirred in right at the end)
- OPTIONAL glug of Worcestershire sauce or mushroom ketchup
Make your stock and pop the porcini mushrooms in, if you have them, and keep it warm. Fry the onion, garlic and celery in a large saucepan with a little bit of butter and olive oil until soft (ideally ten minutes, very low heat). Pour the risotto rice in and, stirring often, let the rice soak up some of the oil and butter. Once the rice starts to stick a bit, pour in the white wine, let that bubble away as the rice soaks it up before slowly adding a ladle-full of stock in. Continue this way, allowing the rice to soak up the liquid, between each ladle full, until the rice is soft but still a little bit chewy and moist. You’re almost teasingly feeding it liquid ladle-full by ladle-full – just as it has drunk up one, the next goes in. Take it off the heat once all the stock has been used, and grate in the parmesan, stirring it round so it melts into the risotto.
Finally, add some seasoning and a lump of cold butter and let it ooze in and cover the pan for a few impatient minutes. It should still just be moist – the Italians spoon it onto a plate and jiggle the plate around in circular motions to allow the risotto to rest in an even flat disc, so it must still retain some moisture and ooziness to do this.
Scatter the parsley on top as a garnish – or even the celery leaves as they are tasty, nutritious and shouldn’t be wasted.
Don’t do anything else for the rest of the day.
Ailsa cooks for One 