Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto

Instead of a starter when I have people over I like to serve nibbles… it takes the pressure off in that I don’t have to make lots of things plus if dinner runs late people don’t go hungry.

I served some really bright green olives, sourdough bread, mozzarella and some beautiful figs.

Before the main event and my new favourite thing… risotto!

You need;
2 pints stock (chicken, or vegetable) note that if you don’t have fresh buy the best cubes you can find
2 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
½ head celery, trimmed and finely chopped
400g risotto rice
2 wine glasses dry white wine
1 small butternut squash, cut into bite sized cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g butter + more for sage leaves
handful of fresh sage
115g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
150g mascarpone cheese to serve

So…

1. You need to roast the squash pieces first, peel and cut your squash and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes, coat in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the stock.

3. Put the oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring… This is called a soffrito. You want everything to go translucent.

4. Then add the rice and very briefly lightly fry until the edges go a little translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring – it will smell fantastic.

5. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.

6. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes.

7. Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked. If not, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite.

8. When the rice is nearly cooked, and just before you add the final ladleful of stock, stir in the butternut squash. Remove from the heat and add the butter, and parmesan.

Season now to your taste…

Put a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes so it gets all creamy. Meanwhile quickly heat up a big knob of butter and fry your sage leaves until it starts to brown.

Serve your risotto with the sage leaves on top and add a cool dollop of mascarpone on top, let it melt into the hot rice… its amazing trust me.

I served this with a beautiful kale salad, which I will have to share with you soon!

 And my second favourite thing about having friends to dinner? Leftovers! Figs and mozzarella and honey. Yum.

Breakfast Tacos…

Not a recipe, but a breakfast idea…

These are so quick and easy and something a bit different for a weekend breakfast, or a lunch.

For 2 people you need;
4 corn/flour tortillas
4 eggs
salsa – I made mine with a few tomatoes, red onion, chilli and plenty of coriander
sweetcorn
cheese
sour cream

 

All you need to do is warm your tortilla’s and prepare your salsa in advance, then scramble your eggs and cook.

Add the salsa and corn to the eggs when they are just cooked, then put into your tortilla, add a little sprinkle of grated cheese then dollop some sour cream on top.

Amazing breakfast and so so quick! 

 

A new favourite in my house. I ate two.

x

Hot Sweet Potato Bowl

This dinner was inspired by Sarah Yates at House in the Hills… and is my new favourite.

It’s so delicious and so healthy, and also very filling!

This is the way I had it but you could throw in whatever veggies/salad you have…

You need – for one;
1 sweet potato
1/2 an avocado, chopped
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lime
1 small bunch coriander
1 dollop creme fraiche
plus sea salt and black pepper and ground cumin

1. Roast your sweet potato, coat the skin in a little olive oil and sea salt and pop in a medium to high oven for an hour… this is approximate as the time and temperature will fully depend on the size of your potato… just keep your eye on it after about half an hour.
Wait till the skin in nice and crispy and the inside is fluffy, then sprinkle some cumin on the inside and season.

2. Put your potato in a bowl and cut open then cube it inside the skin, add the cubed avocado, tomatoes and coriander, then zest some of the lime and squeeze a little of the juice over before adding the creme fraiche.

Season some more and enjoy!

I made double and took some to lunch the next day, it was really good as a cold salad as well.

Super Salmon with Kale and Sweet Potato Salad

This is a new staple in my house. I have already made it twice and that Kale salad… third time is on tonight. 

 

Stacked with ‘super foods’ this meal is so full of goodness that you feel it when you’re eating. I swear.

For 2 people you need;
2 salmon fillets
1 red chilli, chopped
1 lime
1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce (or salt)
1/2 tsp sugar

250g kale, finely chopped
2 small-medium sweet potatoes, chopped into bite size chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 shallot, finely chopped
parmesan chunks to taste (c. 100g)

1. Roast for sweet potato chunks in some olive oil, salt and pepper for about 20-30 minutes at 200c.

2. Mix your marinades, first the kale; olive oil, red wine vinegar and the shallots and mix well with the kale and coat it using your hands. This ‘cooks the kale’.
Then the salmon, the chilli, lime, ginger, soy, fish sauce and sugar, put to one side.

3. When the potatoes are about halfway done, and if your salmon has a nice skin on it fry them in a non stick pan briefly to crisp this up, I love crispy skin but hate it soggy! Then transfer to some foil and pour over the marinade and bake for 6-7 minutes (or more if needed)

4. Mix the potatoes with the kale and add the parmesan chunks – made them thinnish slices but thick enough you can bite them and taste the cheese. Serve with the salmon, with the extra marinade poured over.

Recipes for the Kale Salad and Salmon the (adapted) from Refinery 29

Mushroom Risotto

Many of you probably know how to make risotto… I never really made it before. Its my husbands thing, he does it so well I never tried.

So when I went to the Square Food Foundation and learnt how to make it from a top chef… It was a surprise how easy it was… I know I know everyone says this.

They taught us little chef tricks; how to slice an onion really small and tips on how to make a risotto really great, and how important it is not to brown your onions.

So for a really amazing mushroom risotto you need;
2 pints stock (chicken, or vegetable) note that if you don’t have fresh buy the best cubes you can find
2 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
½ head celery, trimmed and finely chopped
400g risotto rice
2 wine glasses dry white wine
100g sliced mushrooms – I used a mix of exotic mushrooms but chestnut would also work
salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g butter
115g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the stock.

Melt a knob of butter in a pan and add the mushrooms and the leaves from a couple of sprigs of thyme. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring until the mushrooms soften and turn golden. Stir in 1 chopped clove of garlic and cook for a further minute and put to one side.

Put the oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onion, garlic and celery and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring… This is called a soffrito. You want everything to go translucent.

Then add the rice and very briefly lightly fry until the edges go a little translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring – it will smell fantastic.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.

Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes.

Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked. If not, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite.

When the rice is nearly cooked, and just before you add the final ladleful of stock, stir in the mushrooms. Remove from the heat and add the butter, parmesan and 1 tbsp of  mascapone if you like.

Season now to your taste…

Put a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes so it gets all creamy. Then eat!

This is now my favourite thing to make and I have already made a few different risottos, and I am now going to make sure I always have risotto rice in the house.