In the “Masterchef” cooking show risotto is known as the “kiss of death” dish! But for me it is my “fallback” dish. Sometimes by the end of the week I am brain dead, and don’t want to have to think of what I am going to serve for dinner, but also know it has to be something.

So risotto will sometimes be on the menu because it is quick, filling, and can be adapted to whatever you have available in the fridge … tick tick!

There are many methods of making risotto in the Thermomix, but from time to time I do read comments from people who have found it is:

• Too gluggy
• Too tasteless
• Or the taste of raw garlic or onion is noticeable
• Sticks to the bottom of the bowl making the clean up hard (a real turn off when wanting to make a quick meal); and
• Makes too much so what to do with leftovers when you don’t want more risotto!

I am always so sad to read these comments as people are missing out on enjoying such a wonderful easy meal, and in this day and age where everything is so fast paced, easy meals at the end of a working week are the “bomb”.

I would therefore like to share with you my process for making risotto, along with some tips that may help with the points raised above.

If you don’t have stock paste use whatever commercial stock you wish but make sure you use 1.1 litres of liquid to ensure success with this recipe.

Always scrape your bowl before sautéing your aromatics so that all the ingredients are in the base of the bowl … this is where the heat comes from first and will help to ensure the ingredients all cook together … I also recommend you cook aromatics for a minimum of 5 minutes on Varoma to have them “cooked out” properly.  I have never tasted raw garlic or onion when I have done this.

I always use my butterfly when cooking risotto … it ensures that the rice is keep moving as it cooks so that it does not stick on the base of the bowl making it easier to clean at the end of the dish.  Once you have removed the risotto fill the bowl with water to the 1 litre mark and mix for 1 minute / 60 degrees / speed 6 … pour the water out and you will see your bowl needs just a minimal clean.

Once you have allowed the risotto to rest for 5 minutes and are ready to serve, don’t replace the lid on the Thermoserver … it will keep the heat in and continue to “cook” the risotto making it quite thick and gluggy.

There is plenty in this recipe to serve 4 good-sized meals so we don’t usually have a lot left. But what is left you can make into patties that are easy to shape when the mix is cold from the fridge. As I form them I coat them with seeds (sesame are perfect) and they can either be dry baked in the oven or lightly pan-fried making them ideal for wraps or a light dinner. The filling is also terrific as a stuffing for mushrooms baked in the oven and topped with some cheese or seasoned homemade breadcrumbs (or both mixed together) … totally delicious and a great way to make a light meal or accompaniment using up what you have.

The risotto keeps well in the fridge for a good three days so you don’t need to rush to decide how you wish to use it up, but I wouldn’t freeze it as I don’t feel it works well enough.

Spinach, Pea and Mint Risotto with Feta and Roasted Tomatoes

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

22 mins

Total time

32 mins

 

... and serve with feta and roasted tomatoes

If you don’t have stock paste use whatever commercial stock you wish but make sure you use 1.1 litres of liquid to ensure success with this recipe.

Always scrape your bowl before sautéing your aromatics so that all the ingredients are in the base of the bowl ... this is where the heat comes from first and will help to ensure the ingredients all cook together ... I also recommend you cook aromatics for a minimum of 5 minutes on Varoma to have them "cooked out" properly. I have never tasted raw garlic or onion when I have done this.

I always use my butterfly when cooking risotto ... it ensures that the rice is keep moving as it cooks so that it does not stick on the base of the bowl making it easier to clean at the end of the dish. Once you have removed the risotto fill the bowl with water to the 1 litre mark and mix for 1 minute / 60 degrees / speed 6 ... pour the water out and you will see your bowl needs just a minimal clean.

Once you have allowed the risotto to rest for 5 minutes and are ready to serve, don’t replace the lid on the Thermoserver … it will keep the heat in and continue to “cook” the risotto making it quite thick and gluggy.

There is plenty in this recipe to serve 4 good-sized meals so we don’t usually have a lot left. But what is left you can make into patties that are easy to shape when the mix is cold from the fridge. As I form them I coat them with seeds (sesame are perfect) and they can either be dry baked in the oven or lightly pan-fried making them ideal for wraps or a light dinner. The filling is also terrific as a stuffing for mushrooms baked in the oven and topped with some cheese or seasoned homemade breadcrumbs (or both mixed together) … totally delicious and a great way to make a light meal or accompaniment using up what you have.

The risotto keeps well in the fridge for a good three days so you don’t need to rush to decide how you wish to use it up, but I wouldn’t freeze it as I don’t feel it works well enough.

Author: Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Serves: 4 large serves

Ingredients

• 250g trussed tiny toms (or plain tiny toms … use more if you like to have plenty)
  
  
• 2 good handfuls baby spinach, washed, large leaves torn into smaller pieces
• 120g frozen peas
• 12 large mint leaves, or more to taste if you like it really minty, finely chopped
  
  
• 1 medium brown onion, peeled and cut in half
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 6 sprigs Italian parsley
• 50g olive oil
• 50g butter
  
  
• 400g Arborio rice
• 100g dry white wine
  
  
• 3 tbls veggie stock paste (see note below re using commercial stock)
• 1.1 litre filtered water / or commercial stock if you don’t have stock paste
• sea salt flakes to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste
  
  
• 200g feta cheese (enough for up to 50g per serve)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees fan forced
2. Place truss tomatoes into baking dish and bake 30 minutes whilst you cook risotto
3. Place spinach into Thermoserver ready for when risotto is cooked (the heat of the risotto will cook the spinach whilst it is resting for 5 minutes)
4. Put aside frozen peas into a bowl ready to add to risotto in final stages of cooking, and place the chopped mint leaves in the bowl too
5. Place onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil and butter into TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds / speed 7
6. Scrape down sides of bowl and sauté 5 minutes / Varoma / speed 1 / no MC / basket on top
7. Insert butterfly (position the butterfly TO THE LEFT of the one blade that bends upwards from the middle shaft … the other three blades bend downwards ... this position holds the butterfly in place so that it doesn't come off the shaft whilst cooking)
8. Add rice and wine and cook for 2 minutes / 100 / reverse / speed 1 / no MC
9. Add veggie stock paste and water (or commercial stock) and cook 13 minutes / 100 / reverse / speed 1 / no MC / basket on top
10. Add peas and mint and continue cooking 2 minutes / 100 / reverse / speed 1
11. Rice should still feel a little firm but with no hard core
12. Remove butterfly and pour risotto into Thermoserver on top of spinach
13. Place lid on top and allow to rest for 5 minutes while you clean your TM bowl so that it is done
14. Lift lid, taste risotto for seasoning, and then use your Thermomix spatula to stir spinach and seasoning through risotto
15. Serve in separate bowls topped with the crumbled feta and roasted tomatoes

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