THE RISOTTO
Start by chopping everything first.
Once you start, you will need all the ingredients to hand, as you will need to stir the
risotto continuously. Also, do not wash the rice.
In a large pan gently fry the onion
and garlic in the olive oil. We need them to be soft,
and translucent, not brown. Also add the Chilli. BE CAREFUL we want very gentle background heat here. We would rather
you leave the chilli out than add too much
In a separate pan, bring the Vegetable
stock to simmering point. If you haven't already made some, the recipe is at the
end of this page.
Now it's time to cook the Mussels. Put
the wine in a large pan over a high heat and add the mussels which
should, of course, be cleaned an de bearded first. Any open mussels which refuse to close
when tapped with a knife should be discarded. Put the lid on the pan and cook for
two or three minutes until they are all open. Discard any mussels which do not open.
Take the mussels out of their shells
and put them in a bowl of water, which will help to stop them drying out. The liquor from
the mussels is used at the start of the risotto, don't throw it away.
Now add the rice to
the onions and stir so the grains are well coated with the oil, which
should take a couple of minutes only. Add the mussel liquor, leaving the
last couple of tablespoons which will be gritty, and stir until absorbed.
You can now start adding the hot stock
one ladle at a time, waiting until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next.
Stir continuously. It is important that the stock is hot, otherwise the rice will stop
cooking when you add it.
After about 15 minutes the rice should
be cooked and the risotto should have a soft, creamy consistency. Season to taste with salt,
if needed, and freshly ground black pepper and add the lemon
juice.
Add the butter and parmesan
and stir vigorously to incorporate. The risotto should then look creamy and shiny. add the
cooked mussels and the chopped parsley.
VEGETABLE STOCK |
