Gennaro's Limoni
By Gennaro Contaldo
Risotto al finocchio e limone
Fennel and lemon risotto
Not Too Tricky
serves 2
About the recipe
Fennel and lemon go really well together and combine perfectly in a risotto. I have added the juice of a whole lemon into this recipe, giving it a lovely lemony flavour, but you could use less if you prefer. You could also add a knob of butter at the end, but I prefer to leave this risotto deliciously light.
Recipe From
Ingredients
approx. 725ml (generous 1¼ pints) hot vegetable stock
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
100g (3½oz) fennel, finely sliced – include fronds if you like or use to garnish
140g (5oz) risotto rice (carnaroli, vialone nano or arborio)
zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
20g (¾oz) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling if desired
freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Place the vegetable stock in a saucepan over a low heat to keep it warm.
- In another pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil, add the shallot and fennel and sweat over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon to coat all the grains in the oil. Add some or all of the lemon juice and cook, stirring continuously, until the liquid is nearly all absorbed. Add a couple of ladlefuls of hot stock, stirring until absorbed and continue adding and stirring for about 15 minutes until the rice is cooked – it should be soft on the outside but al dente in the centre. (You may not need all of the stock, or you may need a little more.)
- Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and Parmesan. Serve immediately, scattered with lemon zest, black pepper and extra Parmesan if desired.
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