cheese

fennel risotto with ricotta and dried chili (risotto ai finocchi con ricotta e peperoncino)

servings
Serves 6

method

To me, fennel is a really tasty, classy and under-used vegetable. It works really well with the ricotta in this recipe and has a fantastic sweetness. Please don’t buy the crappy ricotta that a lot of the supermarkets have – make sure it’s light and crumbly and, if you’re out of luck, a fresh goat’s cheese is pretty damn good too.

Put your fennel seeds into a pestle and mortar and bash up to a powder. Get a wide, hot saucepan, add a couple of splashes of olive oil and fry the garlic until softened, then add the bashed fennel seeds and sliced fennel. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and turn down to a medium-low heat. Place a lid on the pan and cook nice and slowly for around 20 minutes, until the fennel’s soft and sweet.

Start the risotto bianco as usual and continue through the recipe until the rice is half cooked. Half-way through Stage 3, stir in the sautéd fennel, then keep cooking the risotto until the rice is perfectly cooked.

Bash up the dried chillies in the pestle and mortar until you have a fine powder. At Stage 4, when you add the butter and Parmesan, add the crumbled ricotta and lemon zest. Check the seasoning carefully and balance the flavor with as much lemon juice as you feel it needs to work with the fennel. Divide between your plates, sprinkle over your fennel tops and dust with the ground chilli. Grate over some fresh Parmesan at the table.

• from Jamie's Italy

ingredients

• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 bulbs of fennel, finely sliced, herby tops reserved
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 x risotto bianco
• 2 small dried chillies
• 4 tablespoons good crumbly ricotta
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Parmesan cheese, for grating

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1. by Mariana on Fri 30 Dec 2011 @ 18:57

This is probably my favorite risotto recipe (though I have adapted a fair bit)! I use feta insetad of ricotta (I just had it in my fridge the first time I tried it), and no chili or fennel seeds, as I'm not a fan (plus can't quite be bothered with pestle and mortaring...), and it's the most amazing tangy risotto, with a bit of caramelized fennel in every other bite. Totally turned me on to fennel, which I'd never really cooked before. About the chilli, I do stir some into my husband's half, after I've set mine aside, and he swears by it, so if you like it, do try it! And I don't find it hard at all, you just have to start about 20 minutes earlier than you would a normal risotto, to cook the fennel. And don't worry about how it looks. It tastes amazing.

2. by St. Arvation on Thu 09 Jun 2011 @ 12:03

Seeing these daily recipes cost more to assemble than I spend on food in a week I thought I would add my standard recipe: 1 pack 19p Noodles (not 10p Teso/Asda ones, they are rubbish and half measures) some water.. I use rain water because it's all I have but you could use Evian or specially imported glacial water A few herbs or bits of veg. These can be gleaned from the hedgerows or if you are resourceful the Co-Op skip unless you choose to drive your 14mile/gallon 4x4 to the Farmers' market 30 miles away (like the 'greens' who visit our local farmers' market A bit of grated cheese ..Co-Op skip again though Costco generally have huge blocks of cheese in their skip and it's invariably in date... a wise precaution with Dairy products... Salt Pepper Paprika to taste boil the water with the veg and the MSG packet then add the noodles once the firmest veg is cooked boil some more 'til the noodles are cooked and the water absorbed (this is a skill requiring practice to guess the correct amount of water) Serve in an Xmas pudding basin saved for use instead of binned after Xmas without a thought to the environment, dress with the cheese and seasoning then enjoy. For variations add pickles or sauces or make up with soup instead of water. THINK I AM TAKING THE P155...???? I WISH.....

3. by simona/sagraincasa on Sat 28 May 2011 @ 15:15

Wild fennel is every where at the moment and 4 the ricotta....no prob at all. Thanks very much , it's a very good idea i'll give it a go!

4. by Jan on Mon 07 Mar 2011 @ 12:11

Can only recommend. Very good, very filling (real main course like any risotto, definitely not a side dish as somebody suggested). Also as a risotto it is difficult to make it look beautiful, but you can always get creative if you want. The fennel tastes very different when cooked, so don't be worried about ingredients. @Dorothy: looks sticky, yeah, that's the way risottos are :-)

5. by Marlis on Thu 11 Jun 2009 @ 20:37

thanks for twittering this recipe! have been cooking it tonight for dinner. it tastes great - even for a "half italian" ;-) (i live in the italian part of switzerland).

6. by nia on Thu 07 May 2009 @ 14:01

doesn't look very appetizing but sounds nice!

7. by Matt on Wed 06 May 2009 @ 10:33

Nice recipe...made a few times already and would recommend to anyone!!

8. by Doreen on Mon 04 May 2009 @ 21:28

this recipe is delicious!

9. by Dan on Thu 23 Apr 2009 @ 04:55

Im not sure why there is so much negative attitudes towards jamie ... if you dont like him.. then why are you on his website???

As far as this recipe goes... i think it looks fantastic... def something different to try. Risotto is never the most appealling of dishes to look at but usually tastes great!!!

10. by Harry Keogh on Wed 22 Apr 2009 @ 13:15

No thanks! - If I'd known it was Jamie Oliver I wouldn't have visited the page!

11. by Donna on Tue 21 Apr 2009 @ 22:04

Looks great, some recipes I would like to do at home.

12. by Dee on Tue 21 Apr 2009 @ 09:18

This recipe looks really tasty will definately give this a try. Love lots of Jamies dishes.

13. by Polly on Sun 19 Apr 2009 @ 17:38

Quite like risotto so will try it

14. by johnny on Tue 07 Apr 2009 @ 19:01

a great chef with some delicious creations!

15. by Paul Juniper on Mon 06 Apr 2009 @ 22:03

Not a great chef sorry

16. by Adam Mackenzie on Wed 25 Mar 2009 @ 16:53

Off tonight down Sainsburys to get started on this little baby, another Jamie classic I'm sure!!!!

17. by Robbie Graham on Tue 24 Mar 2009 @ 00:40

looks & sound really really nice,when is he coming to our house to cook it for us!!

18. by Parveen on Fri 20 Mar 2009 @ 12:47

look great, happy to be part of this

19. by tony lees on Wed 18 Mar 2009 @ 13:54

sounds like too much arsing around for me

20. by louisa on Wed 18 Mar 2009 @ 10:36

it dosnt look nice at all!

21. by ashanti on Tue 17 Mar 2009 @ 22:26

looks good

22. by tina adamson on Mon 16 Mar 2009 @ 14:17

Why does EVERYTHING have to have chili in it these days????

23. by silvano on Mon 16 Mar 2009 @ 12:10

Enjoyed very much but difficult to make good presentation on the eye.Very good solid dish like mama used to make.

24. by Jane on Thu 12 Mar 2009 @ 10:30

Love fennel and Jamies recipes so will definately try this.

25. by lyn on Tue 10 Mar 2009 @ 20:48

This recipes is not my favorite jamie not one of your best.

26. by Jean Palmer on Tue 10 Mar 2009 @ 17:12

Sounds goodto FAGIN

27. by sue on Tue 10 Mar 2009 @ 16:42

Sounds nice for a change

28. by Avril on Tue 10 Mar 2009 @ 15:48

looks like something the cat brought up. I would not eat most of the ingredients in this recipe. I do not think it looks appetizing at all. yuk

29. by Nikki on Mon 09 Mar 2009 @ 13:21

looks really good i'll have to give this one a go

30. by Clare Harding on Mon 09 Mar 2009 @ 13:10

Ok I guess but do not like rice / risottos

31. by David on Sat 07 Mar 2009 @ 04:01

Does not sound that filling but might try as a side dish

32. by jacquie on Fri 06 Mar 2009 @ 18:00

does not look pleasant

33. by Dina Greece on Thu 05 Mar 2009 @ 15:58

Thank you so much!
We do admire your work!
It is so simple but still so nice!
And this time of the year is full of fresh fennel in Pelloponesse!!

34. by Draik on Thu 05 Mar 2009 @ 08:02

Sounds good for a change

35. by Annie on Wed 04 Mar 2009 @ 16:28

not for me but Jamie does have some very good recipes whish I use

36. by kelly on Mon 02 Mar 2009 @ 08:29

I have always stuck to jamie oliver recipes, never fail!

37. by Sylvia on Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 14:29

not something I would eat, prefer pasta dishes for vegitarian option

38. by Laura Holehouse on Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 12:34

This sounds nice and not too complicated to make.

39. by Dawn on Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 09:25

interesting meal time

40. by Shahmeer on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 21:09

Its Perfect

41. by cindy khor on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 20:14

the risotto looks great... but i much prefer mushrooms

42. by carly griffiths on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 18:59

great recipe!!!

43. by HayleyLou on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 10:55

I love Jamies risotto i have it alot i cook alot of jamies food
Great dish x

44. by Leigh on Fri 27 Feb 2009 @ 09:49

Jamie's recipes have been tried and tested on many occasions!

45. by michelle on Thu 26 Feb 2009 @ 18:24

doesnt look nice would not try it

46. by sahar on Wed 25 Feb 2009 @ 19:55

Looks good to me!

47. by richard on Wed 25 Feb 2009 @ 13:22

where's the meat?

48. by Joanne on Tue 24 Feb 2009 @ 13:59

Great recipe, my husband cooks every weekend and only does Jamie Oliver recipies, our local butcher refers to him as "Jamie". Great recipies excellent, keep up the good work

49. by Lorna on Tue 24 Feb 2009 @ 11:22

I love risotto and some of Jamie's are fab, but the photo of this one looks horrible so I'm not sure I'd try it!

50. by ali on Tue 24 Feb 2009 @ 11:09

It looks like his politics.. anti european

a mush created to put us off Italian food

51. by laila on Tue 24 Feb 2009 @ 09:39

HMM looks delicious

52. by Claire on Fri 20 Feb 2009 @ 21:18

Risotto always looks naff but is usually delicious. Best not look at the photograph!

53. by vir on Fri 20 Feb 2009 @ 18:21

I love it

54. by sarah on Fri 20 Feb 2009 @ 14:24

No it isnt something that I would probably eat but looks easy

55. by Natalie on Fri 20 Feb 2009 @ 13:31

I love risotto but i have to say this picture does not look appetizing at all although i may give it a try

56. by Aimee Lawson on Fri 20 Feb 2009 @ 11:41

I'm not such a great fan of risotto, it looks like a bit of a mess on a plate in my opinion............... sorry ! :o(

57. by Medals3000 on Fri 20 Feb 2009 @ 09:54

It looks gross, however I will try it, as my boyfriend often tells me - "It looks nasty, but its alright once you get it in your mouth"

58. by louise on Thu 19 Feb 2009 @ 20:27

doesnt look very appetising

59. by Laura on Thu 19 Feb 2009 @ 12:45

Looks and sounds lovely will deffo try this one out.

60. by Michelle on Thu 19 Feb 2009 @ 09:19

It sounds ok - but I think it would be better without the Parmesan cheese. However, it looks disgusting.

61. by Phil S on Thu 19 Feb 2009 @ 07:07

Doesn't look too appetising, but I bet it tastes nice. Like the ingredients, especially chillies. Risotto isn't something I make often, but I will definately try this one.

62. by vince on Thu 19 Feb 2009 @ 00:36

it looks dirty (and not in a kinky sense)

63. by Paul on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 22:17

As With a lot of Jamies recipies it sounds very nice but the picture makes the dish look very unappealing and if i were looking for something to cook this picture would put me off from even reading the recipie.

64. by isabel colegate on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 20:56

Looks great somthing I will try

65. by baz on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 20:36

Looks good to me!

66. by karen on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 18:59

looks really yummy

67. by Jo on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 18:33

interesting website.

68. by Vivian on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 16:16

Looks a bit of a mess to me, but I expect it will taste OK.

69. by DOROTHY on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 14:56

looks sticky and not a good colour.

70. by linda on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 12:28

sounds nice,but not for me,hope you all enjoy it if you try it out

71. by dawn H on Wed 18 Feb 2009 @ 08:23

looks fab and healthy

72. by dajo on Tue 17 Feb 2009 @ 21:47

notsurei fancy this one but like the website

73. by yvonne on Tue 17 Feb 2009 @ 19:04

looks really tastey

74. by JOAN on Tue 17 Feb 2009 @ 18:15

Why do so many recipes have cheese or yogurt in as I hate both but like rissotto

75. by Manish on Tue 17 Feb 2009 @ 14:07

Looks goo and tasty

76. by Kar on Tue 17 Feb 2009 @ 01:38

We regurlarly have this dish and its just great.

77. by Joel on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 21:17

I have a real thing for ricotta cheese anyway so had to try it and yes very nice even made by me :D

78. by Donna on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 21:06

no comment, not something i would eat.

79. by Loo on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 21:04

Looks funny

80. by sarah on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 19:56

looks really tasty :)am looking forward to making it tomorrow :D

81. by dawn on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 19:00

looks really nice but cant eat spicy food

82. by carol on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 14:59

I have never tried risotto, but is something I would like 2 try and the recipe seems very appetising

83. by sarah on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 14:40

thanks for this sounds yum

84. by Marios Solomonides on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 11:44

I can see how I would be using this website every week.

85. by joanne on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 09:49

looks good, going to try it this week.

86. by Kathy on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 09:44

Risotto is not one of my favorite dishes but must admit this one sounds good and may try it for a change.

87. by june on Mon 16 Feb 2009 @ 07:36

looks fun and easy to do

88. by gerbillina on Thu 15 Jan 2009 @ 18:57

A suprising mixture of tastes! Spicy, sweet and sour in one bit! With a glass of chianti makes a really comforting meal.

89. by threednov on Sat 13 Dec 2008 @ 13:49

helow jamie.. :)

I used to loved the way jamie's cooking.. and i think the result is always gorgeous ..for me. By the way, i will try to make this risotto, even sometimes i had found hard to do this :), but i think i should try this.! thanks jamie..^^

90. by melanie lopes on Mon 08 Dec 2008 @ 19:20

Dear Jamie,
Usually I try not miss any of your TV shows and try to catch your recipes but it goes so fast, that it's impossible. I will try at the book shops to find some of your books (in english) not translated into portuguese. We will see. Thanks for all your fantastic recipes.They look gorgeous and carry one, you are one of the best cookers in the world. Success and all the best to you and family.

91. by Brenda on Sun 07 Dec 2008 @ 15:25

Perfect. Just what I was looking for to use up my forgotten fennel in the crisper drawer. Arborio rice is always on hand as is garlic, lemon, olive oil, etc. Thanks - will try this tomorrow night!

92. by ze joao on Sat 29 Nov 2008 @ 19:15

Mr Jamie

I admire your recipes and work

could you kindly send me your recipe of rice with lemon and curry leaves
because i was watching tv and couldn't catch all the recipe, it was too fast...

please
thanks beforehand and regards from lisbon
ze joao

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