Pesto & mozzarella sartu

Ingredients Risotto rice (arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano - I would recommend carnaroli), white onion, vegetable stock, butter, mozzarella, old bread, Basil, basil oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmeggian, lemon.

Sartu is a sort of kiev made from risotto - baked in a bowl to form a crust on the outside and a soft gooey filling.

1) Prepare the bowl by rubbing butter on the inside, then coating with breadcrumbs (blitz old bread in a blender to form crumbs). Put the bowl in the fridge.

2) To make pesto:  add a good handful of fresh basil leaves to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. Sautee 1 crushed clove of garlic in basil oil and add to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and a handful of pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice, basil oil and parmeggian to taste.


3) To make the risotto crust, finely dice a white onion and sizzle in a pan with some basil oil. Add the rice and stir until the rice becomes transparent, revealing a white dot in the centre. Pour in a glug of vermouth and stir as it cooks off.

4) Add the first ladle of vegetable stock and stir through. Continue to stir the risotto, adding stock one ladle at a time as it cooks off. Once the risotto is ready, set aside to cool a little.

5) Take the crumbed bowl from the fridge and spoon a layer of risotto over the crumbs. Press firmly against the sides and imagine you're building an igloo! This has to stand up under its own weight so it needs to have firm sides.

6) Spoon the pesto into the centre and top with a good handful of grated mozarella, then pack more risotto down over the filling. This will form the base of the sartu so make sure it is flat.

7) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn it over onto a plate and cut into it to serve.

Almond & asparagus risotto

Ingredients Asparagus, 75g almond slivers, 1 pint vegetable stock, 50g gruyere, 1 1/2 cups risotto rice, onion, butter, vermouth.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

This might just be the best risotto I have ever created. Toasted almond and asparagus are perfect partners - the nutty, buttery flavour components of both ingredients fuse together perfectly and the triple hit of the nutty, caramel flavour of gruyere makes this risotto a completely hedonistic treat.
All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time.

1) Finely dice the onion and sautee in a little butter until soft. Add the risotto rice and stir until the rice becomes transparent, revealing a white dot in the centre and pour in a glug of vermouth.
2) Once the alcohol cooks off, add the first ladle of stock and stir through.

3) In a seperate pan, lightly toast the almond slivers, shaking and turning the pan until they just turn golden brown. Keeping a few to garnish the risotto, crush the toasted almonds in a mortar and pestle until they resemble fine crumbs.4) Continue adding the stock to the risotto, one ladle at a time, adding the ground almonds and aspragus with the second to last ladle of stock.
5) Stir through the grated gruyere, finish with freshly grated black pepper and the remaining toasted almonds and serve.

If you don't have any almonds, you could stir in a teaspoon of almond butter instead.

Pea & asparagus risotto

Ingredients 1 pint vegetable or ham stock, 125g asparagus, 75g peas, 1 1/2 cups risotto rice, 1 tbsp chopped mint, 1 white onion, vermouth, butter.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

Pea and mint risotto is a real favourite of mine - whether I give it savoury notes with a little gruyere or parmeggian, or whether I keep it fresh and clean, I never get bored of it. Adding asparagus seems to enhance the freshness of the peas, whilst adding the more complex, nutty savoury notes that I would usually get from the cheese. Perfect if you don't do dairy or are trying to cut down! All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time.

1) Finely dice the onion and sautee in a little butter until soft. Add the risotto rice and stir until the rice becomes transparent, revealing a white dot in the centre and pour in a glug of vermouth.
2) Once the alcohol cooks off, add the first ladle of stock and stir through.

3) Continue adding the stock, one ladle at a time, adding the mint, peas and aspragus with the second to last ladle of stock.

4) Finish with freshly grated black pepper and serve.

Fennel & goats cheese risotto

Ingredients   Fennel, risotto rice, goats cheese,  cream, leek, vegetable stock, vermouth

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes


I adore fennel - the liquorice taste which is so prevalent when it's raw, adds a fresh dimension to a rich dish so I think this is perfect to balance the goats cheese in this risotto. All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time.

1) Finely dice the leek and sautee in a little butter until soft. Add the risotto rice and stir until the rice becomes transparent, revealing a white dot in the centre and pour in a glug of vermouth.


2) Once the alcohol cooks off, add the first ladle of stock and stir through.

3) Continue adding the stock, one ladle at a time, adding the sliced fennel with the second to last ladle of stock. Crumble through the goats cheese and stir through.
4) Finish with a little cream and freshly grated black pepper and serve.