The Cottage Smallholder

I always used to choose risotto in Italian restaurants as I imagined that it was a complicated dish to cook.

“Let them do all the stirring and sweating.” I’d think as I pointed to my choice on the menu.

Recently I discovered that risotto is easy and quick to make. And a great way to transform the leftovers from the Sunday joint into something delicious. You can use uncooked meat and fish in a risotto but this recipe is designed to breathe life into pork or chicken that you find kicking about in the fridge.

There are two secrets of success:

One is to make the risotto, remove the saute pan from the stove and then add the chopped cooked meat. The meat will heat through in a few minutes but will not be twice cooked stringy nuggets.

The other tip is to slice your vegetables fine – this helps to release maximum flavour, decrease cooking time and give a fresh feel to the dish.

We always buy Fred Fitzpatrick’s excellent spare rib of pork to roast. He tipped that this is the tastiest joint of pork. Danny is the Cottage Master of Crackling (CMC) and gets this just right every time. I don’t like cold pork, even eased between the tastiest slices of fresh bread so risotto is generally the final tasty curtain call for leftover pork.

Quick and easy pork and summery vegetable risotto recipe

Ingredients:

• 300gms Arborio (or risotto) rice
• 1 large onion (chopped half centimetre cubes)
• 500ml-900ml of hot stock (I used 2 tsp of Marigold stock powder and 1chicken stock cube to 900ml of water)
• 3 tbls of olive oil
• 1 fat clove of garlic (crushed and chopped fine)
• Herbs to taste (we used two large pinches of our strong, dried Italian herbs)
• 1 yelow bell pepper sliced fine (in the Magimix )
• 4 tomatoes qurtered and sliced fine (in the Magimix)
• 2 handfuls of cubed pork from ac old leftover joint
• 2 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley stirred through just before sreving
• 4 tbsp of grated parmesan to garnish

Method:

1. Take a saute pan and over a low heat add the chopped onions to the olive oil and cook until soft and translucent.
2. Add the rice and another tablespoonful of oil if the mixture seems a bit dry. Toss the rice in the onion and oil mix until all the grains are coated.
3. Add the garlic. Add 250ml of stock and stir to absorb. Add the herbs.
4. Keep on adding the stock and stirring, letting the rice absorb the moisture.
5. After ten minutes add the peppers and tomatoes. Stir well and every now and then check the moisture and top up with stock as necessary. When the rice has softened but still has a bite remove the pan from the heat. This will take approximately 10 minutes from the point when the vegetables are added.
6. Add the pork and parsley and stir them well into the risotto. Put the lid on and leave for five minutes. Scatter with parmesan and serve.