Risotto alle Ortiche
Risotto needs constant stirring (releasing and distributing the starch, ensuring creaminess and even cooking of the grains), so you do need to stand by the pan while you cook, which can be a very soothing activity if undertaken mindfully at the end of a long day. If you’ve got guests, grab a glass of wine and chat while you stir.
Nettles: we are talking about the tips of the plant that start to appear in March. Roughly speaking a 'handful', my handful yields 30g. So grab about 5 for two people. Keep your rubber gloves on until you've blanched them. If, whilst processing them, you pop them in your food bin, change the bag, with your gloves on. You don't want to run the risk of getting stung. Yes, I'm a wimp with pain, but it will spoil your enjoyment off cooking with nettles, if you do.
Serves 2 (but can be doubled)
150g Nettles
1l stock, chicken or vegetable
30g butter
1 shallot or small onion, finely diced
180g Risotto rice
75ml white wine
40g grated Parmesan
25g butter, hard from the fridge, diced
Prepare a bowl of iced water (add ice cubes to a bowl of water).
Bring a sauce pan of salted water to the boil, rinse the nettles in the sink (wear rubber gloves or use tongs so you don’t get stung), get rid of any thick stems; when the water’s boiling put the nettles in the pan for a 30 seconds; drain in a colander and put them straight in the bowl of iced water. Swish about, remove and squeeze as much water out (there will be no sting).
Pop through a food whizzer to make a purée, it doesn’t have to be too smooth; if you don't have one, chop finely.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion or shallot and fry gently for a few minutes until translucent.
Add the rice and stir for a few minute, until it’s coated in butter.
Add the wine, stir until it nearly disappears.
Then add the stock, ladle by ladle, stirring after every ladle until that nearly disappears. Stirring!
After having used half the stock, add the nettles.
Keep adding and stirring in ladles of stock until the rice is al dente. (It it is cooked, but has a bite to it).
Stir in the parmesan and the butter.
Taste it, add salt to taste, if required, and a scrunch of black pepper.
Serve with a radicchio and blood orange salad, dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. You'll have a meal of green, red, orange, purple: eating the rainbow! Sprinkle on some seeds or roasted nuts (for crunch and nutrients, protein if you've made it veggie). Enjoy with a glass of Italian white wine. My preference would be a Piedmontese Gavi, or my favourite, a more aromatic choice, Roero Arneis, if you can find it. Finish up with a tiramisù or a panna cotta with some roasted rhubarb.
