Creamy mascarpone and ricotta add a touch of luxury to this simple vegetable risotto. Omit the deep-fried courgette flowers to make a quick mid-week meal.
Ingredients
- For the courgette risotto
-
- 50g/2oz butter
- 1
onion, finely chopped - 1
garlic clove, finely chopped - 250g/9oz
Arborio rice - 150ml/5fl oz
white wine - 1 litre/1¾ pint chicken or vegetable stock
- 150g/5½oz
courgette, diced - 3 tbsp
mascarpone - 40g/1½oz
parmesan (or a similar vegetarian hard cheese), freshly grated
- For the deep-fried courgette flowers
-
- flavourless oil (such as
vegetable oil), for deep frying - 225g/8oz
ricotta - 1
lemon, zest and juice - 8
courgette flowers - 1 tbsp fresh
yeast - pinch
salt - pinch
sugar - 175ml/6fl oz
tonic water - 200g/7oz
plain flour - 25ml/1fl oz
vodka - 1 tsp cider
vinegar
- flavourless oil (such as
- For the basil oil
-
- 10g/¼oz
basil - 100ml/3½fl oz
olive oil
- 10g/¼oz
Preparation method
-
For the courgette risotto, melt 25g/1oz of the butter in a large pan until foaming. Fry the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the Arborio rice and stir well to coat in the butter.
-
Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the rice grains start to turn translucent, then add the wine and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until nearly all of the liquid has evaporated.
-
Add a ladleful of the chicken stock to the pan and stir well. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until nearly all of the stock has been absorbed, then add another ladleful of the stock. Repeat the process until the rice is cooked but still al dente (retaining bite).
-
Add the courgette during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking and then stir in the mascarpone, 25g/1oz of the parmesan and the remaining butter. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
-
For the deep-fried courgette flowers, heat a deep-sided frying pan filled two-thirds full with the oil until hot but not smoking, or heat a deep-fat fryer to 190C/375F (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
-
Mix the ricotta with the lemon zest and juice, then spoon the mixture into the courgette flowers and twist the end to seal.
-
In a bowl, mix together the yeast, salt, sugar, tonic water, flour, vodka and vinegar. Set aside until the batter starts to bubble, then dip in the flowers to coat and deep-fry in the hot oil for two minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
-
For the basil oil, blend the basil and oil in a blender until smooth, then pass through a sieve.
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To serve, place the risotto in serving bowls and top with the courgette flowers. Drizzle the basil oil around the risotto and top with the remaining parmesan.