Back-to-School Risotto

Well, the holidays are over and school starts tomorrow.  Today has therefore been spent in a spin, dashing around trying to locate errant plimsolls, pencil sharpeners and other associated, ephemeral dross.  We also had to take the Christmas decs down; I know the last day of the hols isn't ideal, but I can't bear to see the back of Christmas for another year and always leave them up until the last lord leaps, piper pipes and drummer drums.

I love cooking risotti, as I know I've written before, but more and more, when up against it, I've taken to getting the bulk of it done in the oven; after all anything in the oven can, in a sense at least, be ignored while you get on with other things.  A good comforting supper was in order tonight, not least for me as James is going to (admittedly nursery) school for the first time tomorrow and it has all gone so quickly.  It feels like only yesterday that I was writing about weaning him into solids and now look at him; my little peach is not-so-little any more.

My method for doing a risotto in the oven is very straightforward, either with 300g risotto rice (I tend to use arborio as it's the most widely available) and a litre of stock, which makes dinner for the four of us, or with 450g rice and 1.5 litres of stock, which makes enough for a lunch for me and one (or both, if needs be) of the children the following day as well.

Soften an onion, in butter, in a large ovenproof casserole.  When very soft, tip in the rice and stir to coat in the butter.  Pour in a slug of white wine or dry vermouth, then add any extra ingredients (and see below), pour in the stock and pop in the oven.  Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 180°, then stir in a handful of grated parmesan and pop a lid on for five minutres while you set the table and pour yourself a drink.

Tonight;'s risotto was made with ham stock and the last, diced, meat from our Christmas ham but past successes in this line have included a mushroom version, a chicken and herb version, bacon and pea and prosciutto wth cubes of roasted butternut squash.  To be continued, I'm sure...

Cath  xx