Rocket risotto with scallops and crispy ham

Scallops seem to be very in vogue at the moment, if you watch Masterchef you'll have noticed that every other dish has scallops in it, not to mention they're on every restaurant menu and in every supermarket too. I didn't understand what all the fuss was about until I tried one at a food show in Birmingham last year, they are possibly the most delicious seafoody thing I've ever eaten! I picked up some perfectly fresh and delicious looking scallops last week, unfortunately they weren't in their shells but you can't win them all.

I wanted to cook a main dish with my scallops rather than the usual starter, I wanted to incorporate ham into the dish too. It's a delicious combination. I settled on making a risotto -nothing fancy, just a basic risotto- stirring through some peppery rocket leaves and serving the fried scallops on top with some crisped up ham.

Black forest ham

Although Parma ham would have been really tasty I used German Black Forest ham, it's similar in texture to Parma ham but has a darker colour and a smoky flavour. Well worth trying if you come across it, it tastes superb!

The risotto was really good way to serve scallops and the ham that I crisped up in a pan complimented the scallops perfectly. My scallop dish repertoire is extremely limited, I'd love some more ideas. How do you cook scallops?

A tribute to Keith Floyd

If you're from the UK and perhaps even if you're not then you'll probably have heard the sad news that Keith Floyd, TV chef, one of my food heroes and all round great guy died on September 14th. He was one of the first people to make cooking shows entertaining rather than just educational, his passion for food, his flamboyance and his willingness to visit unusual places and put himself in strange situations made his programmes unmissable TV. He will be sadly missed.

If you've never seen Keith Floyd then here's a classic Floyd moment.

As a tribute to Keith Floyd I made this Andalucian paella using his recipe. The recipe is quite basic, it's what I would consider to be a traditional recipe.I browned some chicken pieces in a paella pan, added rice which is cooked with onions and peppers in chicken stock for flavour. Then saffron and turmeric were added for both flavour and to give the rice a fantastic golden yellow colour. Just before the rice was cooked I added prawns, mussels, tomatoes and a handful of chopped parsley.Paella is undoubtedly one of my favourite dishes, it's brilliant for sharing if you have friends over. Just put the pan in the middle of the table with lemon quarters for squeezing over and let everyone dig in!

You can find the recipe for Keith Floyd' paella here.

Oven Baked Risotto

I don't know about you but I have a list of bookmarked "must try" recipes that seems to keep on growing. Whenever I come across an interesting recipe I bookmark the page with every intention of coming back to it and cooking it, the problem is I never do. Those recipes it seems are doomed to languish in my bookmarks folder for all time. So when I found an interesting recipe for making risotto in the oven I knew I had to make it right away or condemn it to the same fate.

I've written about risottos before, they are one of my favourite meals, something I make time and time again. The only downside is that stirring the pot for what seems like hours can become a bit tedious. When I found this recipe over at Anne's Kitchen for a risotto that is baked in the oven I just had to try it. No stirring, brilliant!
I really couldn't tell the difference between this and the conventional version, what's important is that it tasted great!

You can find Anne's recipe here, I changed it slightly by adding peppers and using chopped tomatoes, this recipe is very adaptable so use whatever you like, anything goes!

Risotto

There are few meals I like more than a good Risotto, it's rich, creamy, comforting and altogether delicious. I find it amazing that a dish requiring so few ingredients can taste so good, of course once you've mastered the basic recipe it can be varied with any number of additions.

The most important part of a risotto is unsurprisingly the rice! It is very important that you use proper risotto rice, either Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. You are most likely to come across Arborio, although if you are lucky enough to find one of the others you should snap it up!
Risotto rice differs from other rice as it is much shorter and fatter, the stubby little grains can absorb far more water that regular rice, they also contain a large amount of starch, which is what gives risotto it wonderful creaminess.

Last night I used the last of my oven dried tomatoes to make a tomato and basil risotto. The combination of tomato and basil is a classic that's always a winner, needless to say it was good, very good!

Perhaps not the most photogenic of foods, but it tasted good!

This is the basic recipe, once you've mastered this anything goes! To make my tomato risotto I added tomato purée, Italian herbs, fresh basil and oven dried tomatoes, I also added a yellow pepper which is why it is such a bright colour!
A particular favourite of mine is mushroom risotto, simply add fried mushrooms to the basic recipe, easy!

Basic risotto recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 3-4 sticks of celery finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• Butter and oil for frying
• 300g risotto rice
  
• Roughly 1-1/2 pints of hot stock (chicken or vegetable)
  
• A glass of white wine
• Parmesan
• Butter
• Salt and pepper
  

Method:

• Put a large saucepan on the heat with a knob of butter and a splash of oil.
• Toss in the vegetables and fry until softened.
• Add all the rice to the pan and stir until every grain is coated in the butter and everything is well mixed.
• Pour in the wine and stir until it has all been absorbed.
  
• Keeping the stock hot begin to add it to the pan one ladle-full at a time, wait until all the liquid has been absorbed before adding more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked to your liking.
  
• Finish by stirring in butter and grated parmesan, season well and serve.
  

The wild larder, mushroom hunting and a risotto

When I go out for bike rides around Leicestershire as I regularly do, There is a particular lane which is shaded by trees where no one ever goes. It is one of my favourite places to ride, it's quiet, peaceful and beautiful.
Recently I have begun to notice something happening down MY lane, at first they were small and insignificant, I saw one or two little ones appear only to have vanished the following day. That all changed last week when I found this monster!
I'm talking about mushrooms and this one weighed in at a whopping half a pound!

Normally I am very cautious about eating any kind of fungi that I have found growing wild, as although I like mushrooms I'm not prepared to die for the pleasure of eating them!
This one however I could confidently identify as a common field mushroom, exactly the same as I would buy in a supermarket.
As I rode home with my find I was thinking of what I could make with it. It was such a special ingredient that I wanted a recipe that allowed the mushroom to be the star. At first I just thought of making a mushroom sandwich but then I had ideas of stroganoff, pasta and pizza. But finally I went for a simple risotto.

The results may not be pretty but they were certainly tasty, the mushroom flavour was allowed to come through loud and clear and was not obscured by other flavours as can often be the case. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal which was made all the more special by having found the main ingredient growing wild.
The Risotto I made was as simple as they get, onions and garlic were softened in butter as a base, to which I added Italian Arborio rice, white wine and stock. I fried the mushroom and added it at the end. The risotto was finished with a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Wild food is abundant here at the moment, only today I have found wild plums, blackberries and apples so expect more posts to follow...

I have entered this post into a great event called grow your own. The idea is to feature dishes that people have made with food they have grown or raised themselves. Find out more here: Grow Your Own

Easy as... Paella

Paella is perhaps one of the most controversial of foods, almost every Spaniard has the perfect, original and absolutely authentic recipe. Yet every one is different! the subject can spark heated debates in homes across Spain. Should a paella contain seafood? rabbit? chicken? there are plenty of recipes around containing these ingredients, I've even seen a recipe that contained snails!After a bit of research it seems that there is no original recipe, Paella started out as a labourers dish originating in the province of Valencia in southern Spain, this is where the rice was grown, a special short grain variety called Calasparra or Bomba which is similar to the Italian Arborio risotto rice.
As the labourers were poor it would have contained whatever was to hand, usually cheaper meats such as rabbit or snails from the fields, as well as a selection of vegetables. It is cooked in a similar way to Risotto although the stock is added all at once rather than gradually. One thing the Spanish do agree on is that it should never be stirred as this prevents a crust forming on the bottom of the pan. This is called a socarrat and is considered a delicacy.
Paella is in fact the name of the large round pan in which the meal is cooked, the meal is named after the pan in much the same way as a casserole is actually named after the pot In which it is cooked.
This meal was ideal for labourers working in the fields as large amounts could be cooked over an open fire and be shared, eaten from the same pan with spoons.
It is unlikely that the first paellas would bear much resemblance to those eaten today as the ingredients would have been to expensive. A typical paella now would usually contain a mixture of seafood, some kind of meat often chicken, and the essential ingredient of Spanish Saffron, this is what makes it really special as it is the most expensive spice in the world.
Last year we had a continental market come to town, there were stalls from all over Europe selling specialities from their different countries, such as German sausages, French crépes and delicious waffles with chocolate I think from Austria. One of the stalls was selling kitchen equipment and they had Paella pans, needless to say I bought one! I've used it a couple of times and last night I gave it another try. My version of paella included mixed seafood (mussels, squid and prawns), pork and some Chorizo sausage. I also added tomatoes onions, lots of garlic, red bell peppers and a pinch of saffron.Contrary to what you may have thought Paella is extremely easy first I fried the sausage and meat, then added the vegetables, then the rice and saffron and finally chicken stock and a splash of white wine. A Paella pan is not essential and there are plenty of recipes around, this is one of my favourite meals and I urge you to try it. One of the good things about it is you can make it extravagant with lots of expensive ingredients for a special occasion, or like the original labourers, make it with whatever you have...