At this time of year, I like to be outside gardening or playing with my children when the afternoon comes to a close. They come up with the best games as the day ends. It’s so much brighter than it was a mere few weeks ago, and with this glorious warmer weather, the kitchen seems less of a haven, and getting the dinner is just one more job to be done. So let’s keep it simple.
Greed is the reason why I learned to cook, and love it so much. I enjoy knowing that whatever delicious dish I can imagine, I can then create. It’s a blessing and a curse, being able to cook. Knowing how quick and easy it is to whip up a batch of sugar-crusted brownies, or that scones can be on the table in 30 short minutes.
I try to discover as many kitchen shortcuts to flavour, easy home cooking and healthy delicious dishes as I can. I always try to avoid food waste and love when the kitchen just flows and works well. I get satisfaction from placing the sad old vegetables from the end of the week into the pot when I roast the chicken, using the chicken carcass and vegetable peelings to make stock, then using the roast chicken leftovers and stock to build many meals during the week.
I’ve spent years stirring risotto, standing at the cooker, but I now know that popping it in the oven to bake gives good results too. This is one of my favourite one-pot dinners and takes less that half an hour to make. I use a little leftover cooked chicken from a Sunday roast, along with 500ml home-made chicken stock. I sometimes add some fried chorizo pieces to make this more of a paella. You can add any finely chopped vegetables such as celery or leek while you are frying the onion. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice brings the flavours to life.
I will admit this is, of course, not a traditional Italian risotto, but rather a hybrid risotto that has adapted to suit our lifestyle. And it tastes great.
Once again this recipe is centred around two pantry staples – rice and tinned tomatoes. If you don’t have arborio rice then use any rice you have, the resulting dish will still taste great. For herbs I’ve added a little marjoram, but fennel, parsley or basil would all be ideal.
The rich creaminess of this rice dish comes from the stock and folding a handful of grated Parmesan through once you take it out of the oven. Serve with a little extra grated Parmesan and plenty of black pepper.
BAKED TOMATO RISOTTO
Serves four
Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp butter
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
300g arborio rice
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 litre chicken stock
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
4tbsp finely grated Parmesan
2tbsp flat leaf parsley or marjoram, roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper
Method
1 Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, or equivalent.
2 Melt the butter and oil in a wide oven-proof pan. Saute the onion for five minutes before adding the garlic. Move this around the pan for a few minutes so it doesn't burn.
3 Pour in the rice and stir to coat it well. Leave to cook for a minute before stirring again as you pour in the stock and tinned tomatoes. Season well with salt and pepper then fold through the shredded chicken. Place the lid on and cook the risotto in the oven for 20 minutes.
4 Remove from the oven and stir well. Return the pan to the oven with the lid on for another 10 minutes. Most of the liquid will have been absorbed by the rice.
5 Fold through the grated Parmesan and any herbs you have. Put the lid back on for a few minutes before ladling the rice into bowls and topping with black pepper and a little more Parmesan.
