Red Pepper Risotto
Instructions:
- The character of this delicious risotto depends on the type of rice you use. With arborio rice, the risotto should be moist and creamy. If you use brown rice, reduce the amount of liquid for a drier dish with a nutty flavour.
- 3 large red peppers
- 30 ml/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 11/2 x 400 g/14 oz cans chopped tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.2-1.5 litres/2-2 1/2 pints/5-6 1/4 cups vegetable stock
- 450 g/1 lb/2 1/2 cups arborio rice or brown rice
- 6 fresh basil leaves, snipped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the grill. Put the peppers in a grill pan and grill until the skins are blackened and blistered all over. Put the peppers in a bowl, cover with several layers of damp kitchen paper and leave for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, then slice the peppers, discarding the cores and seeds.
- Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, then add the pepper slices and bay leaves. Stir well and cook for 15 minutes more, still over a gentle heat.
- Pour the stock into a large, heavy-based saucepan and heat it to simmering point. Stir the rice into the vegetable mixture and cook for about 2 minutes, then add two or three ladlefuls of the hot stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the stock has been absorbed into the rice.
- Continue to add stock in this 4way, making sure each addition has been absorbed before pouring in the next. When the rice is tender, season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes before stirring in the basil and serving.
- Serves 6