To help you beat the isolation boredom, No. Twelves' Ritchie Stainsby shares his caramel artichoke and truffle risotto recipe...
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 Jerusalem artichoke
2 banana shallots (or 1 large white onion)
3 cloves of garlic
½ tsp brown sugar
1 lemon
30g samphire
1 tbsp truffle oil
2tbsp nutritional yeast
1 stock cube
2 sprigs of thyme
200g Arborio rice
30g butter (regular or plant based)
50g parmesan (optional)
75ml white wine
Risotto in our house is always our go-to dish. This Italian classic is warm, comforting, and can be surprisingly light. For such a cheap dish, it has an element of luxury that can be achieved with a wide range of leftover ingredients, meaning it can be made any night of the week. This risotto is a little more expensive, but worth it for a lockdown treat.
Method
1. Begin by finely chopping your garlic and shallots. Pre-heat your oven to 220°C and peel your artichokes.
2. Chop your artichokes into quarters and put them into a roasting dish with 2 tbsp of olive oil, the brown sugar and salt/pepper to season. Transfer them into the oven and roast for around 35 mins, or until golden brown and soft.
3. Put a deep frying pan on a medium heat with a nice glug of olive oil. Add in your thyme, garlic and shallots. Sauté for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften up. Then add your Arborio rice.
4. Turn your pan up to a medium high heat and toast your rice to seal the grains, this will take a couple of minutes.
5. Add in your wine and cook off the alcohol (beware if you are using an open flame!). Once your wine has reduced, turn down your pan to medium low or a light simmer.
6. In a saucepan, add your stock cube into around 500ml of water and set to a rapid boil. Once boiled, turn down to a simmer and add a ladle of stock to your rice every few minutes, or until the stock has pretty much reduced. Repeat this until your rice is starting to soften up, taste your sauce and season with salt and pepper accordingly.
7. With a teaspoon, lift out some rice and wait for it to cool. With your fingers gently squeeze (it should still be firm in the centre, but soft on the outside). If it is, add your samphire into your risotto and fold in.
8. Now your artichokes are roasted, pull them out of the oven and with the back of a fork, crush them until they are broken down (almost like mashing a potato). Fold them into your risotto and add in your nutritional yeast.
9. Your risotto should start to become really nice and creamy at this stage. Directly into your risotto, grate in the zest from your lemon and add in your butter (and parmesan if you are using it).
10. Finally, add in your truffle oil and turn off the heat. Let your risotto sit for a minute and then toss your pan a few times to thicken up.
11. Serve immediately into a pasta bowl and finish with some fresh herbs, another little drizzle of truffle oil and, if you are using it, a shaving of parmesan. Enjoy.
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