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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Risotto with courgettes, parmesan and basil



Summer is definitely over. It rains even more often (as if it was possible) and the soil in our garden has gone all soggy. But luckily enough, my courgettes continue to provide me with beautiful produce. For past few weeks I have been enjoying creating different meals with lovely zucchini and anything else I could find in my garden - herbs, chillies, broccoli, fresh peas, runner beans, potatoes, onions and even tomatoes.


One of my favourite dishes is risotto - perfect comfort food for rainy evening. Nice and creamy, with a hint of interesting flavours. Basic risotto recipe is easy to follow and by adding one or two different ingredients you can create lots of tasty meals. Here is one I had yesterday:


Risotto with courgettes, Parmesan and basil

1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
150 g risotto rise
1 small glass of white wine
500 ml hot vegetable stock
2-3 courgettes, grated (if very small, sliced)
handful of grated Parmesan
basil leaves (purple basil looks particularly pretty)



Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Add chopped onion and garlic and let sweat. When onion is soft, but not coloured, add rise and stir. When rise is all well coated with oil, add wine and let alcohol evaporate.
Then ladle vegetable stock, stirring continuously. Only add more stock when the liquid has been absorbed. Halfway through add courgettes. You may want to squeeze some water out of them before adding, but it is not necessary as the moisture will be absorbed by rice.
When the rice is cooked, season to taste with freshly grated pepper and salt and add half of Parmesan and half of basil.
Spoon to bowls and garnish with remaining Parmesan and basil.
Serves 2.

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