Saturday, November 13, 2010

Risotto Bolognese

The other night, I made a big pot of bolognese sauce - half was eaten that evening for dinner and the other half went into the fridge with vague plans to use it over the weekend or throw it into the freezer.

I am a big advocate of taking shortcuts, especially during the week, and I really do love Loyd Grossman's Primavera sauce - there's no garlic in it, so you won't stink the place out with your dragon breath... I added lots of onion & sliced mushrooms to the meat sauce, together with a "substantial" amount of red wine, purely for flavour, you know.

Anyway, I was flicking through my new Nigella Kitchen book & saw a recipe for Risotto Bolognese.  Her method is very virtuous, making it all from scratch, and that's wonderful if you have all day and an army of kitchen slaves.  I had a stash of bolognese sauce all ready to go, so my version is incredibly simple and easy.  As usual, this feeds two hungry people so it's very easy to upscale the quantities to feed a crowd.


Risotto Bolognese

Bolognese Sauce
6oz Arborio or Carnaroli rice
500ml Beef Stock
Parmesan Cheese


Heat the bolognese in a large pot until piping hot.


Add the rice & stir well.


Start adding the stock in large ladlefuls, stirring well until each batch has been absorbed & the rice is tender (I don't like "al dente" risotto) - this takes 18-20 minutes.  You'll end up (a) having stock left over, (b) using it all or (c) having to add extra water.  It depends on the rice, so don't worry too much.


Allow it to reduce until it's thick & not too liquid & soupy


Serve with some grated or shaved parmesan & some fresh basil leaves.

6 comments:

  1. Aoife thanks for posting this recipe! I tried it last night but as I was responsible for two little people I tried baking the risotto and it worked!
    Who says good food can't be easy?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds so wrong, but tastes so right!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Going to try this tonight, thanks for posting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Funny, I work full time and do not have an army of kitchen slaves, yet I did not find the original "scratch" recipe anywhere near as difficult or time-consuming as you imply it to be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks JM - my aim is to get people to realise there's an alternative to ready meals and fast food and if taking a few shortcuts helps them do that, then is there any harm done?

      Delete
    2. Thanks JM - my aim is to get people to realise there's an alternative to ready meals and fast food and if taking a few shortcuts helps them do that, then is there any harm done?

      Delete