'Tis The Season To Be Jolly...

No its not Christmas just yet, though equally as exciting, a time of optimism, will we have a summer? Will the sun keep on shining? Of course it will.

But in the mean time and in this jolly early summer season, here are some other things to be excited about...crab, samphire, asparagus, courgette, halibut, rocket...did I mention crab and courgette? Two of my favourite things..so why not put them together? Hmmmmmm..

I actually started this piece several weeks ago, but my day job as an Events Manager took me away from my normal world for a little while....so we are nearing the end of this fabulous season now, though not quite yet. We have some lovely courgettes in our garden almost ready for harvesting, whilst I wait, I thought I could share with you one of my favourite risottos. This should make up for lost time. Absence makes the heart grow fonder I hope...

Crab, Chilli & Courgette Risotto – serves four (or 6 less hungry peeps)

Melt 50g of butter in a large heavy based frying pan. Add 4 finely chopped shallots, 1 red chilli, 2 cloves of fresh garlic and fry gently until softened (please do not brown these or it will impair the flavour massively – the key is low and slow – a low heat and cook them slowly) and then add 300g of good quality risotto rice.

Turn the heat up a little and cook for about 3 minutes you can often hear the rice almost squeaking at you, begging for more hydration. Add 125ml of white wine. Allow the rice to absorb the wine and continue stirring.

Next, add a ladleful of hot chicken stock (use homemade if possible, if not a good quality bouillon or shop bought stock is fine) to the rice and stir until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Continue adding the stock, a ladleful at a time until all the stock has been absorbed. This should take about 13 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in another heavy based pan add a knob of butter and 3 grated courgettes and cook for a few minutes, until the courgette has reduced in size.

I sometimes use crab stock though it depends on my audience as it then becomes extremely rich and very fishy. When my Mum visits us from Yorkshire she often brings me a couple of fresh crabs, so I make this risotto and various other treats with them and then boil the shell and make some fantastic quality crab stock, and if we are crabbed out and don’t fancy a bisque then I will freeze it for times like these. I also make a wonderful Crab Linguine and a Creamed Crab, Sweetcorn & Harissa Soup or just simply a lovely fresh salad with king prawns, crisp romaine lettuce and avocado.

Now, back to the task in hand….!

Stir in the cooked courgettes, 150g of brown picked crab meat and 150g of white picked crab meat into the risotto, along with 2 tablespoons of mascarpone, 60ml of double cream, salt & pepper and 1 heaped tablespoon of parley.

Ensure the risotto is seasoned well and is still wet. There is nothing worse than a congealed lump of rice on the plate impersonating a risotto; it should be wet and creamy.

I don’t feel parmesan is necessary in this risotto though it does lend itself well if this makes the dish for you. I sometimes make a parmesan crisp - by grating fresh parmesan onto tin foil into a round disk and then grilling until crisp on one side and turn over and grill on the other, take out and peel from the foil and place on to greaseproof paper to cool.

To serve, divide between four plates or bowls, and sprinkle with fresh white crab meat and a pinch of finely chopped parsley and the parmesan crisp if you made them.

I would enjoy this with a crisp, well chilled glass of Sancerre. Actually, who am I trying to kid, I would have some risotto with a bottle or two of Sancerre!

I have been travelling a lot lately, and hope to incorporate this into my next postings and will certainly be paying homage to my lovely friend, the broad bean…keep with me fairyites!  If you try this or any of my other recipes I would really appreciate your feedback. I won’t leave it so long next time…until then…enjoy. KF x