They’ve been repeating the Jamie Does… series on More 4 recently, and aside from the shocking title sequence, I think it’s a pretty enjoyable show. I like the idea of zeroing in on a region’s cuisine as opposed to skimming the surface of a whole country, something that the late great Kieth Floyd did so well.
One of the dishes that got my mouth watering the most was the tomato risotto he cooked in Venice. There was just something beautifully simple about the risotto and the tomatoes cooked in olive oil that made me want to give it a go. I’m sure there’s an accompanying book for the series, but I haven’t bought it, so this recipe is a approximation of what I saw of the idiot box. It worked for me, so should do for you too.
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the risotto
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
100g arborio rice
100 ml white wine
1 litre vegetable stock
Handful of grated Parmesan (about 25g)
Olive oil
Unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the tomatoes
15-20 mini plum / cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
10 basil leaves, torn
50 ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
First up, get your stock ready. Pour it into a pan, and get it on the heat so it’s just below boiling point. Next finely chop your onion and celery and then gently sweat in a pan containing a good glug of olive oil and a small nob of butter for about 10 minutes. The veg should become translucent as opposed to brown.
Whilst the veg is cooking, halve the tomatoes and add to a small pan with the oilve oil, garlic, basil leaves, salt and pepper. Stir them together and then put on a low heat. You don’t want to fry the hell out of the tomatoes, more soften them and let all the flavours in the pan infuse and meld together.
Once you’ve done this, you should be ready to add the rice to the onions and celery. Mix it all together, coating the rice with the oil. Add the white wine to the rice, stir in and let the alcohol burn off for a minute or so. You’re now going to start adding the stock. Do this a ladle at a time, stirring all the while. Stirring is an important part of the process, as it helps make the risotto creamy as it soaks up the stock. You don’t want to beat the mixture, more of a purposeful stir.
After 15-20 minutes of repeating this process, you should have used up most of the stock. The risotto should be loose and creamy, and the rice ‘al dente’ (not overly soft like rice pudding, still with some bite). At this point take it off the heat. Stir in the grated Parmesan, a small nob of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Now cover the pan with a lid and leave the risotto to ‘relax’ for a couple of minutes.
Check your tomatoes. By now they should be nicely soft, and the olive oil should have take on a bit of their colour. Now take your tomatoes, and add them to the risotto, stirring them in gently, and then plate up.
Serve in bowls with a little drizzle of olive oil and a hunk of crusty bread.
Tags: Basil, Butter, Celery, Jamie Does..., Jamie Oliver, Kieth Floyd, Olive Oil, Onion, parmesan, Risotto, stock, Tomato
I have long been a fan of Jamie’s risottos. A favourite in our house is the asparagus and pesto number from his iPhone app, as well as his simple white wine, celery & parmesan number from Jamie’s Italian. The wife and I disagree on the level of what constitutes al dente in the arborio rice, so it’s inevitable that each risotto cones tinged with a little domestic tiff.
Elsewhere in the series, his Swedish dishes, particularly the baking, looked superb and different.
Do the domestics improve the taste? Maybe I should try