Risotto Verde (Delia Smith’s Vegetarian Cookbook): Friday Challenge!

This is my second risotto technique for this month  and I have to say I thought it was fantastic! It is taken from the book “Vegetarian Collection” by Delia Smith, you can buy the book here and also you can view the recipe on Delia’s website here.

This technique is different to the previous recipe as for Delia’s recipe you fry the raw ingredients, then pour it into a dish and bake it in the oven.  She gave quite strict timings for the baking so I used a timer and it came out perfectly. What I liked about this recipe is that there is no guessing when the risotto is done, or how it should look, you are given clear instructions and as long as you follow them you will end up with a risotto as Delia intended it to be.

The grains of rice were soft and fluffy but not mushy and the vegetables were perfectly cooked and nestled in amongst the rice.

I also loved the flavours of the vegetables in there – I think a risotto needs big chunks of veg to provide other flavours and textures. I’m really struggling to think of my own flavour combination because there are classics you just shouldn’t mess with! We will see, I know I’ll come up with something eventually!

What I learnt about Risotto:

Well the main thing I learnt here is that it can be baked in the oven! This is a relief as not sure I want a whole month of standing and stirring for an hour. I also learnt that you don’t need to add lots of things like cream and cheese to make an indulgent risotto, although those ingredients give it a more silky texture, you can still create something special but without all the calories!