Brillat Savarin & Radicchio Risotto

YOU'LL NEED

4 tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
Salt and pepper
2 cups carnaroli (the best!) or arborio rice (if you can’t find)
¾ cup white wine
2L vegetable stock
1 cup shredded radicchio
½ cup microplaned Parmigiano Reggiano
150g triple cream French-style cheese (I had Brillat-Savarin) that’s got a little bit of funk, a soft, subtle blue will work as well.
Lemon to serve

MAKE IT

First get your stock in a large saucepan and on a simmer. I make my vegetable stock from a bag of collected veg scraps I keep in my crisper drawer (onion skins, vegetable peels and fennel tops) along with a parmesan rind and some peppercorns. If you’re using store-bought, that's fine but making it yourself is super easy, resourceful and costs nothing (I get my rinds from Penny’s Cheese Shop, she’s always got heaps and keen to give them away).

Place a large high-sided fry pan on a low-medium heat. Glug in the olive oil then toss in the diced onion, garlic, a good crack of pepper and a big pinch of salt. Stirring occasionally, allow the onions to release their liquid, turn translucent and begin to ~melt~ into the oil, this takes at least 20 mins. Crank the heat to medium, add the rice and stir for about 4 minutes till all the grains are covered in the oily onions and looking glossy. Add the wine and allow it to simmer and tshhhhh in the pan, stirring till the liquid is mostly gone. Next add 1L of the stock all at once to the pan, give it a quick stir to make sure none of the grains are stuck to the pan, pop the half lid on and leave it for 15 minutes on a gentle simmer adding more stock if things are absorbing too fast (if this happens, turn the heat down a touch).

Once you’ve hit the 15 min mark, give the rice a taste, it should be nearly cooked, but still with a noticeable bite. This is when we start the real work. Turn off the heat and add both the cheeses and another cup of hot stock and begin stirring constantly — this is where we start emulsifying fats with the starch and liquid making a creamy sauce for the risotto. Stir, stir, stir adding more stock if it’s any dryer than creamed rice consistency. Add in the shredded radicchio and ½ a cup of hot stock and stir for another minute. Taste and season with more pepper, salt or extra Parmigiano Reggiano.

Before I take it to the table I always add an extra splash of stock to make sure it’s loose and creamy. Risotto should never sit piled up in a bowl. It should be more like a super thick soup than like sticky, wet rice. Eat it with a spoon. Serve with a squeeze of lemon, drizz of olive oil and extra Parm, as always.