tomato & parmesan risotto

This a great family risotto as everyones loves cheese and tomato, right? It works really well with garlic ciabatta - another kid favourite and a green salad (kids, not so much). I always return to this recipe when I want something that tastes grown up, but keeps everyone happy.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500g baby plum tomatoes

• ½ tsp dried thyme

• 1 medium onion

• 1 large clove garlic

• 200ml of white wine, or 100ml Sherry (see note below)

• 350g risotto rice

• I vegetable stock cube plus 1L boiling water or 1L fresh veg stock (see note below)

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 15-20g fresh basil, stalks finely chopped / leaves torn

• 50g parmesan, finely grated

• A knob of butter

• 1 tsp sea salt

method

• Preheat the oven to 200ºc

• Spread the tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and thyme. Roast for 20 minutes until starting to brown on the tray, turn gently and put back in for 10 minutes.

• Use a spatula to scrape the tomatoes into a bowl and set aside.

• Pour 200ml of boiling water into the tray and scrape off all the flavour packed residue with a silicone spatula, reserve this to add to the rice with the stock later.

• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter in a large pan and fry the onion gently for 10 minutes until softened. Melt the stock cube in 1L of boiling water or warm on the hob / in the microwave if using fresh.

• Add the garlic to the onion and cook for 1 minute.

• Next add the risotto rice to the onion mix and stir well to coat, then turn up the heat and pour in the wine or Sherry. Allow the harsh alcohol taste to bubble off and the rice to absorb most of the wine, then turn the heat down and start to add the stock. I usually pour in about a ladle or 100ml at a time and gently stir to combine. Let the rice simmer and each time it has absorbed most of the stock, add another ladle.

• The rice will need to cook for approx 20 minutes, but after 12 minutes add the roasted tomatoes with the ‘stock’ from deglazing the tray, the tomato purée, plus chopped basil stalks.

• Keep adding the rest of the stock for another 6-8 minutes, check that the rice is cooked (it should still have a little bite) and finish by stirring in 40g parmesan, a knob of butter, torn basil leaves and salt. Serve with the remaining 10g of grated parmesan.

• Add a little more water if needed - a risotto shouldn’t stand up in your bowl, it should melt to the sides.

• If you want to make garlic ciabatta, prep while the rice is cooking and grill in the last 3-4 minutes before the risotto is ready.

tip

• A note about stock - if I’m using a cube then I will double the amount of water recommended on the pack, so for this recipe I just used one cube for one litre of water. Otherwise you’ll end up tasting the stock cube rather than it being a savoury back note.

• I don’t always want to open a bottle of wine just for cooking, so I keep a bottle of sherry or Vermouth in the cupboard to use for risotto. It doesn’t go off like wine, so you can just use a glass as and when you need it.

• I use a Microplane or fine grater for the cheese and garlic.

The best chocolate chip cookies

A wet Saturday called for a bit of baking, so my daughter and I set about making some cookies. I searched around online, but ended up on Nigella’s site as I think she is the queen of baking and always shares reliable recipes. I think her cookies are particularly good, however I didn’t think they would be THIS good! They’re literally my favourite cookie EVER! No exaggeration.

I adapted Nigella’s recipe slightly by using dark brown sugar instead of light and left out the extra egg yolk and vanilla essence. They’re super easy to make and a good one to do with kids; my 11 year old pretty much made these by herself, which she loved. I’m just her sous chef! In fact probably more kitchen porter / dishwasher to be honest.

Ingredients

Makes 16 large cookies

• 150g unsalted butter, soft

• 100g soft dark brown sugar

• 125g golden caster sugar

• 1 egg (fridge-cold)

• 300 g plain flour

• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 320g dark chocolate chips

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/325°F.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment.

• Melt the butter in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on how cold it is and then let it cool a bit.

• Put the both the sugars into a bowl and pour in the melted butter, beat together.

• Next beat in the egg until the mixture is light and creamy.

• Mix the bicarbonate of soda into the flour and slowly add to the bowl, beating as little as possible - I add one large serving spoon of flour at a time. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

• Use a tablespoon and scales to divide up the dough into 60g portions, rolling each one into a rough ball and then placing on the lined tray 8cm apart. We made two batches and kept the dough in the fridge while the first one cooked.

• Bake for 15–17 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Tip

I’m going to use this recipe as a base for changing the flavours and ingredients as I think the following would be so good too:

• Milk chocolate & hazelnut

• Pistachio & dark chocolate

• Chocolate orange (using flavoured chocolate)

• White chocolate & cranberry

• Pecan & raisin

Roasted red pepper hummus

I love hummus and I love it even more when it’s flavoured with roasted vegetables. Red pepper is one of my favourite combinations as I think it really compliments the hummus, bringing a sweet and slightly smokey note from the charring. Make some at the beginning of the week and your future self will be thanking you every lunchtime. Well, may be not every, but quite a few ;-)

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 tin 400g chickpeas - drain well, reserve a little of the water

• 1 red pepper, from a jar or roasted if you prefer - pat dry with kitchen roll

• 2 tbsp tahini

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small clove of garlic

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• ¾ tsp sea salt

• Optional: crumbled feta & a sprinkle of paprika, crudités to serve.

Method

• Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. If the hummus is too thick you can add a spoon of aquafaba (chickpea water) to loosen.

• Serve with crudités, homemade tortilla chips, crackers, wraps, baked potato or sourdough toast with feta and roasted pumpkin/sunflower seed on top.

'Chicken' supreme with rice

You can’t get a much more family-friendly veggie recipe than this - it’s classic comfort food which works really well in the colder months and should satisfy even the most committed meat eaters. My carnivore sons who are not especially enamoured with Quorn will eat this without complaint!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 50g butter

• 50g tbsp flour

• 900ml semi skimmed milk

• 1 ½ tsp vegetable bouillon

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• 6 Quorn chicken fillets, sliced or cubed

• 200g frozen peas or sweetcorn

• 220g brown rice or 280g white rice

Method

• First make the bechamel sauce. Add the butter to the pan, melt and then tip in the flour, mix thoroughly and allow to warm through for a minute.

• Start pouring the milk in slowly, 50ml at a time at first, so you don’t get lots of splashing as you whisk it in. Quickly add the next 50ml and repeat until you’ve got to about 300ml and then you can start adding 100ml at a time.

• Once you’ve poured in all the milk leave on a low heat for 15 minutes to cook through and get rid of the floury taste, but whisk or stir regularly so the bottom doesn’t stick and cause lumps.

• Cook the rice as per the instructions on the packet.

• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and add the Quorn pieces, cooking for for 6-8 minutes until browned on at least a couple of sides.

• Add the Quorn and peas to the white sauce for 5 minutes, or until the peas have warmed through.