Risotto rules and hints and tips too

It's imperative that your stock is kept hot and added a ladle at a time. If you follow these basic principles you'll be fine.

If you weigh all your ingredients, chop your onions, decant the wine into a plastic jug, grate your cheese (box and fridge of course) it's half the battle and you won't get flustered, panic and then make a mistake! Before you're ready to begin cooking place all your ingredients on a tray and check against the recipe. It may seem like a lot of prep, really it isn't and it's worth it. There's nothing worse than trying to wing it by prepping as you go, it reflects in the finished dish and I meant what I said, it really is therapeutic and you'll enjoy watching each stage and it morph into deliciousness. Risotto is good for the soul.

I'd keep the risotto basic especially if you have family and/or guests who all have different likes and dislikes. If you'd prefer to top the risotto, try balsamic mushrooms – an easy recipe, with bags of flavour and it looks really cheffy.

If you'd like some alternative suggestions :

seared asparagus tips

seared scallops and king prawns

cooked, diced chicken

cooked chorizo, finely diced

don't forget a bowl of finely grated Parmesan to sprinkle to taste!

Risotto is a rustic dish and I think perfectly acceptable to serve from the hob to the table in its pan, having said that, I mentioned earlier that in my kitchen everyone is already sat around the hob so it doesn't get a chance to move from the hob to the table!

If you are serving at the table then serve your crostini as an appetiser followed by your risotto and sides at the table.

Next – a side recipe

Autumn comfort food ideas

This time the ideas are for the weekend when you've more time.

Weekend cooking is different – it's time to kick back, relax and enjoy yourself. If you love your cooking it's reflected on the plate or in this case, in the bowl. I long since gave up seating visitors in a different room when all they want to do is hang around the island where the hob is - chatting, with the obligatory glass of something, munching – appropriately with this recipe - on crostini and watching the cook.

If this picture is appealing to you you'll find that risotto is the perfect dish for the occasion. If you fancy the crostini munching there's a plan coming up and again it's possible to prep ahead so that large plates can be passed around – they take only minutes in the oven - to satisfy those rumbling tummies whilst watching the risotto morph. There'll be various topping ideas to suit your gang – these days too there are so many choices of breads for the crostini - from small baguettes to larger sourdough loaves. Hold that thought – I'll be back with it soon.

All in all it's what I call convivial weekend comfort food.

What follows cannot be rushed, I think of it as a form of therapy. Risotto scares a lot of cooks, there's no need to worry, provided you follow a few basic rules.

There are “spin off” dishes that can be made from the risotto, which I'll come to later.

Here's the basic risotto recipe :

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

40g unsalted butter

1 tbsp groundnut oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves (or 3 tsps paste)

350g risotto rice

150ml dry white wine

2 tbsps flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

100g Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Bring the stock to a boil and simmer gently. Heat the butter and the oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Season with salt. Stir in the rice and fry for 2 minutes until the edges become opaque. Add the wine. Start adding the stock, a ladle at a time – the liquid should be absorbed before you add the next. Add the parsley, black pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Risotto rules up next and hints and tips too!

The cobbler ps … and another light bulb moment!

Originally I had leftover soup and cobbler which, portioned, went into the freezer. I defrosted a portion of soup which had two blobs of cobbler – in the fridge, overnight. I lifted the cobbler blobs away from the soup and placed on a microwaveable plate or a lid from a box would do. The cobbler blobs hold their shape well and so it's easy to remove any soup in its cold state. I wanted to see how the cobbler element performed and so microwaved them on high for one minute – you may want another 20 seconds. I then re-heated the soup and hey presto lunch! The cobbler blobs were delicious and I have another boxed stashed in the freezer for that chilly Autumn day I know is on its way.

I promised an update too on the six frozen uncooked blobs of cobbler. Here's the light bulb bit – all that is required is an egg, beaten, ready to brush the blobs and then place in a pre-heated the oven 200fan/220/Gas 7 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Here's what happened :

the tray lined with baking parchment, with

the cobbler blobs added and then egg washed, twice

straight from the oven and delicious

warm – a “cobbler” ploughman's

anyone?

I just love messing around in the kitchen, especially when it turns out well – in fairness there wasn't much to fail but nevertheless it's a different idea from the soup and a cobbler.

I'd definitely chalk this one up as a success.

Autumn comfort food ideas …

A soup and a cobbler – hints, tips and a gamble!

The original recipe says “about 14” blobs of cobbler and that's exactly what you'll get following the ice cream scoop measurements as a guide. Then another light bulb idea – I decided to cook eight blobs and then wrap the remaining six, bag and freeze so that I can see how they behave on another day when I need a cobbler – watch this space!

Here are the final photos :

the remaining six, ready for wrapping

the remaining six, bagged ready for the freezer

here's the soup and cobbler – I shouldn't

have done but I ate them both – yum!

This ticks more than one box. If you're tired and in need of comfort, the soup and cobbler is the answer, it absolutely hits the spot. The gamble paid off!

It's economical too – perfect for a mid week Autumn meal. Further news on the frozen cobbler soon.

P.s. Interestingly there are only 12 pieces of cobbler shown in the Waitrose Food Magazine – pages 60 and 61 – where are the other 2 – or is is that “about 14” actually means 12. Thank you to my ice cream scoop!

Coming up, more Autumn comfort food ideas ...

The cobbler and a light bulb moment

Instead of using “the pan on the hob and foil method” why not use a deep, non-stick frying pan to bring together the soup and the cobbler. I have to confess I'm slightly anxious about the cobbler on top of a pan of soup – a scone mix is more dense than a dumpling and 25 minutes of simmering soup I have a slight concern that it'll catch the bottom of the pan and potentially spoil.

Here's the plan. Tip your thickened soup into your deep frying pan – by the way, mine measured 29cms in diameter x 6.5cms deep (11½x2½”) . Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4. Gently warm the soup.

Bring together your cobbler mix :

Using a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt and butter and rub in with your fingertips until you've got a breadcrumb texture. Add the milk, cheese and onions and stir with round bladed knife until just combined. Using your ice cream scoop, spoon blobs on to the top of your gently simmering soup.

Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Now it's time to back up the light bulb moment!

Step 1

the cobbler mix in the bowl

brought together, don't overwork, it's

meant to be rustic

Step 2

the soup in the pan and the blobs of

cobbler

Step 3

out of the oven

There's more!

The cobbler – the recipe and a grumble

First up a big tick to the Waitrose test kitchen. I've only one small grumble – they don't give you any help with the size of, using their word, “dollop” - to me the word implies “large” and indeed the dictionary definition confirms so. Consequently my word to describe the size of each portion of cobbler is “blob” which is smaller than a dollop! Reading this paragraph it sounds like I've really lost it. Recipes should be as precise and descriptive as you can make them and size definitely matters when you're giving guidance to readers.

Once again, to back up my mouth – here's my tip :

Dust off that ice cream scoop that you use once every blue moon! Brush the scoop with the tiniest drop of vegetable oil to prevent sticking and use it to scoop uniform blobs of cobbler – it's meant to be rustic so don't stress! It's an idea so that you'll achieve even weighted cobbler cooking.

By the way – my ice cream scoop measures 5cms in diameter – 2” in old money, here it is :

Chapter and verse up next with more photos.

The Cobbler – photos from the beginning …

... and tips along the way.

For the cobbler it's important to cook your onions well ahead, so that they've time to cool properly. Once they are cooled and boxed you might want to wrap said box, tightly, in cling film. There is nothing worse than thinking the box has done its job, only to discover that the onions have tainted everything in the fridge, too late!

Here's a couple of snaps :

this is what the onions should look like

it might look like I've overdone it – I promise

you I haven't!

By chilling the onions they'll be easier to amalgamate into the rest of the cobbler recipe, ready to immerse in your soup. If I can cook elements of a dish ahead and fridge it suits me very well. It's never a chore to bring together a dish if you've everything ready to rock and roll. It may not be possible with every recipe but for comfort food i.e. soup, casseroles or slow cooker based dishes they generally benefit from being cooked ahead and thus allowing flavours to develop.

In this instance, I made my soup the day before, cooled and fridged (still in the saucepan) and then blitzed it to thicken the following morning. I also got myself organised for the cobbler and set my stall out. I weighed the dry ingredients and popped into a mixing bowl. I weighed and diced the butter, cling filmed and fridged – I grated the cheese and ditto.

All that remains is for me to measure the milk and mix.

Wish me luck!