A Risotto of Leeks.
Seemingly plain yet fully poised, this is a relatively unorthodox use of a ubiquitous vegetable.
Risotto panna e porri.
A masterly dish made with a hardy ingredient, this traditional Italian recipe takes skillful advantage of both French decadence (cream!) and British agronomics (leeks!).
The results are a respectful meal exemplary in its restraint as well as indulgence.
Together with the saffron risotto (risotto al Milanese) and the plainest, purest – some would say the finest - Parmesan risotto (risotto al Parmiggiano), this is a risotto of confidence. Impressive in their decisiveness and intriguing in their determination, these are risottos that bare all, uncloaked by a show-stopper ingredient or a congregation of many. They are explicit risottos.
The leek risotto is also one of the most efficient and economical risottos you can make: a delicious, speedy stock can be made with the green parts of the leek, and unlike most risottos it needs no wine. Butter is only necessary for cooking, so you do not need it of the highest quality, (substituted here for double cream, an ingredient altogether more available in good quality in Britain). Quality Parmesan is necessary, but in much lower quantity than would be required in a regular risotto recipe.
As with any dish where the leek is a protagonist, its long season, stretching from late autumn to early spring, means that it is fitting and delicious for about half of the year, and so offers the considerate advantages of a multitude menu opportunities. Magnified further by the leek’s wonderfully versatile flavour profile.
MENU SUGGESTIONS.
Beguiling in its unusual familiarity, it is delicate and delicious as a new romance with and old friend.
So absolute and sustaining is the leek’s natural and gentle sweetness, it almost needs no precedence or supercedence; you might just request of your dining companion to bring the best bottle of champagne they can procure. A divine combination, you will be in business. And perhaps more.
In fact, if I were the sultry, sexy sort, who did not cook, I would learn how to make this dish and only this dish, and promptly seduce every dishy man in England. With this dish alone. (That is the sort of dish.)
For more virtuous occasion, below are some combinations of courses, if lengthy and varied owing to the leek’s long season -
Savoury -
Melon and prosciutto, scallops tartare or carpaccio, marinated seabream in lemon and herbs, tuna mousse profiteroles, smoked trout pate, fried butterflied prawns with crispy jerusalem artichokes, skate with mustard, fried oysters, oysters with calvados, lobster and grapefruit salad, marinated swordfish with shallots and basil, swordfish layered with courgettes and thyme, fried whitebait, chestnuts roasted in pancetta and rosemary, rabbit tonné, pheasant, chestnut and jerusalem artichoke and pomegranate salad, roasted quail or partridge, roast loin of pork with figs, Parma ham and sage, tuna and cod “roast” stuffed with prawns (for a real celebration)
Sweet -
A bowl of blueberries, a hazelnut cake, marron glacee, a mont blanc, very ripe white peaches (potentially soaked in prosecco or champagne), white chocolate mousse with strawberries, madelaines with Vieille Prune, a coffee éclair, a tarte tatin, a spiced date and walnut cake, liquorice ice cream
COOKING RISOTTO.
As any Italian will attest, risotto is a mild artform and nothing is like a risotto made at home. If you have never had a risotto in a home it is possible that you have never tasted a true and genuine risotto. An orchestration of temperatures and timings, continuous stirring and occasional resting, it is a simple but studied process, that demands moderate insight and a minimum of intuition, and a very good dose of patience too. The rewards are the joyful heights of voluptuously tender yet firm grains, creamy yet compact in consistency as makes up the saucy, risotto of present-day.
The five phases of cooking risotto:
The soffritto: go slow and on low heat here, the results need to be sweet: “mincing” the onions finely will help
The tostatura: the rice should be vigorously toasted on high heat
The sfumatura: all of the wine needs to be fully evaporated: this occurs when it stops to smell of wine
The cottura: the stock must be added one ladle at a time – risotto requires 17-20 minutes of constant stirring, a non-negotiable point. It will not go quicker nor will the results be creamy in texture nor rich in flavour if there is any skimping here. (There are many otherwise delicious things to cook if you cannot commit here.)
The mantecatura: cover and rest for 1 minute off the heat, before very vigorously beating in butter or cream, which need to be very cold: dice butter into cubes in advance and place back in the fridge, which will ensure that butter is the right size and temperature for this final and all important stage.
RECIPE.
Serves 4
Butter, 25g
Leeks, 4 small
Vegetable stock, 1,5 l
Risotto rice, 350g
Single cream, 175ml
Salt, pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated to serve
Use the green parts of the leeks to make the vegetable stock. Adding a potato will make it extra creamy.
Melt the butter in a pan and add thinly sliced white parts of the leeks
Cook stirring on low to medium heat for 5 minutes, without browning. Add a spoonful of water and simmer for 20 minutes until translucent, adding more water if and when necessary
Meanwhile bring the stock to boil in another pan
When the leeks are ready, stir in the rice, fully coating in the buttery mixture
Now start to add one ladleful of the hot stock to the rice, on medium heat, stirring until each addition has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock one ladleful at a time, until all has been absorbed. This will take between 17 and 20 minutes. When the rice is tender, but firm to the bite, cover and rest for 1 minute. Stir in the cold cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. This risotto should be creamily bound, neither dry nor runny.
Serve immediately, with freshly ground Parmesan.
If you run out of stock, boil a kettle.
