risotto

cauliflower risotto

servings
Serves 6

method

This is an absolutely delicious recipe. It’s quite unusual, and the best thing about it is that it makes a hero of the much-underloved everyday cauliflower. If you’re down the farmers’ market, or at the supermarket, have a look around for a Romanesco cauliflower – it’s a similar size to a normal cauliflower but spiky and green. It also has a delicious flavour. The reason I love this dish is because it takes some all-time classic ingredients and puts them together in a great way. In Britain, we normally eat cauliflower baked with cheese, and in Italy it is baked as a Parmigiana with cream, cheese and anchovies. All these flavors are in this risotto, with the added bonus of really crunchy chili pangrattato sprinkled on top – it gives an amazing kick.

Whiz the bread in a food processor with the anchovies, the oil from the tin and the chillies. Heat a frying pan with a splash of oil and fry the flavored breadcrumbs, stirring and tossing constantly until golden brown.

Trim the coarse leaves off the cauliflower and cut out the stalk. Chop the nice inner part of the stalk finely. Start making your risotto bianco, adding the chopped cauliflower stalk to the pan with the onion and celery at Stage 1. Add the cauliflower florets to your pan of hot stock.

Continue to follow the basic risotto recipe, adding the stock bit by bit until the rice is half-cooked. By now the cauliflower florets should be quite soft, so you can start to add them to the risotto with the stock, crushing them into the rice as you go. Continue until the rice is cooked and all the cauliflower has been added.

At Stage 4, when you add the butter and Parmesan, stir in the parsley, taste and season. Sprinkle with the anchovy pangrattato, grate some more Parmesan over the top and serve. So, so good!

• from Jamie's Italy

ingredients

• 2 handfuls of stale bread, torn into pieces
• 1 small tin of anchovies, oil from tin reserved
• 3 small dried red chillies
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cauliflower
• 1 x risotto bianco
• a handful of chopped fresh parsley
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan cheese, for grating

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1. by Nikisha on Thu 13 Oct 2011 @ 09:39

Made this yesterday, soooo delicious!! My fiance loved it as well! A new favourite!

2. by Remco on Tue 16 Aug 2011 @ 22:34

This is insanely good. A pangrattato with anchovies is quite possibly the best invention ever.

3. by veggie on Tue 19 Jul 2011 @ 18:58

Just a warning to already disappointed veggies- the anchovy is an obvious one, but parmesan is not vegetarian either :(

4. by Lorraine on Tue 05 Jul 2011 @ 01:22

This recipe is devine... my 1yo son's favorite dinner (minus some of the pangrattato). Also, leftovers make delicious Arancini (bread-crumbed fried rissotto balls, with molten mozzarella cheese in the middle) with a simple tomato and basil sauce to serve!!! OMG I can't get enough... our favorite Meat-Free Monday dish by a long shot.

5. by Soph on Mon 18 Apr 2011 @ 22:16

Normally like Jamie's stuff but this was disappointing. Lacking in substance and a bit bland, even though I followed it to a T.

6. by jimena on Fri 15 Apr 2011 @ 16:03

Jamieeee You really rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />

7. by Sarah on Wed 13 Apr 2011 @ 19:32

If you make it the day before it matures and tastes even better

8. by sara on Wed 13 Apr 2011 @ 15:29

what is the "x" in 1x risotto blanco?<br />

9. by sonia nieves on Wed 13 Apr 2011 @ 13:33

I do not understand the part about how you add the cauliflower rice within that party fails to translate well into Spanish :(<br />

10. by http://www.balibrasserie.co.uk on Wed 13 Apr 2011 @ 11:21

This is the first time I have visited your site and the experience is amazin.This recipe seems a delight. The presentation is making it more delicious. Thx for sharing this delicious risotto.

11. by Louise on Wed 13 Apr 2011 @ 10:50

This is a fantastic recipe, one that I do time and again. My OH is vegetarian, so instead of anchovies I use sundried tomatos to make the breadcrumbs.

12. by Isaac Zelunka on Fri 17 Dec 2010 @ 02:24

A vegetarian option may be with capers - they are very similar in taste, and add a little olive oil to replace the anchovy can oils, and maybe a little sea salt. (I haven't tried it yet, but it may work)

13. by cairnsyla on Sun 16 May 2010 @ 10:35

Folow this, but with Romanesco broccoli instead of the cauliflower. Trust me- it is the bees knees!.

14. by Anita Anchovy on Sun 28 Mar 2010 @ 03:59

Lovely recipes, thank you for sharing, but Anchovies are not a vegetarian option (probably justa filing error no big deal). When you have helped the world nudge itself towards better eating (and thank you for that too) please be sure that along the way you don't nudge them into eating unsustainable food sources like Anchovies :-) On behalf of all endangered fish species we thank you!

15. by Matt on Wed 15 Jul 2009 @ 14:19

Does anyone have a suggestion for this dish that doesn't use anchovies. Is there a vegetarian alternative?

16. by robert from brussels on Sat 28 Feb 2009 @ 08:17

Very nice risotto, easy to make, and tasty. The anchovy breadcrumbs is great.

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