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| Recipe of the week... ... BOSH! Irresistible Risotto |
Ingredients:
60g macadamia nuts, 1 red onion, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 handful of fresh
herbs (such as sage, parsley and mint), 75g green beans, 60g asparagus, 60g
kale, ½ lemon, 900ml vegetable stock, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 225g risotto
rice (such as Arborio or Carnaroli), 125ml dry white wine, 75g garden peas, 3
tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 ½ tablespoons dairy-free butter, salt and
black pepper
Serves:
2 decent bowlfuls, and a lunch-sized leftover portion for the next day
Time
taken: 1-hour max
Dietary:
Vegan
--
Hi
readers,
How
are you all today? Are you well? And are your people well? The important
people, how are they doing?
As
I write to you today, I’m a little under the weather in fact. All full of cold!
I’m a bit out of sorts and not up to running this week. It’s not ideal, but –
every cloud has its silver lining – and I’m making good progress with my book
and my knitting project while I get better. If the cold persists, I might
actually read a book and knit a blanket this Autumn.
How
about you, readers, what are you hoping to achieve with Autumn?
Dream
big!
--
- Food
for thought -
This
week, readers, I have a few bits and bobs to recommend for you. I’ve been…
Listening
To some classic albums in the car
What better way to soundtrack
your journey? Is there one?? If you ever catch me driving about Sheffield, I
will very likely be singing badly at the top of my voice to an album from the
nineties or noughties. Favourites include: Simply Red – Life, Maroon
5 – Songs about Jane, Madonna – Music. You can pick CDs up from the
charity shop for £1 or less… worth every penny in my eye.
Watching
And
we’re just getting to the bit where everyone’s good and I don’t want anyone to
go home! I was quite sad this week when it came to announcing who would leave –
they took it well, there were no tears in the tent, but they’re also good at
baking it doesn’t seem fair anyone has to go home! I’m the kind of person who
wants everyone to win at board games and everyone to get the job role – I can’t
hack the tension of competitive TV shows. But, will keep watching for the cake.
Reading
My
perplexed pub/bar commentary on this book, and general inability to remember what
the book’s even called, has led friends to speculate that I’m in fact not
reading a book at all. But, I am and I’m very gripped by it. I’m nearing the
end now and still don’t know what the genre of the book is. But it follows a
likeable character, Thomas, along with his beau, John Cole, during American
Civil War times. I recommend.
Enjoying
A big
walk in the countryside
Last
weekend, we ventured a little further into the Peak District countryside than
we would normally from Sheffield, for a big stretch of our legs. We ventured
out on a PeakWalking walk from Thorpe to Dovedale and Tissington, and back –
see here for the directions. We packed a picnic and set off on a sunny
afternoon, and it was lovely. We were admiring the colours of the Autumn leaves
and waving at the sheep and cows we passed. Do you have time for a walk this
weekend?
Wondering
What
to get people for Christmas?
And
then I stopped myself and realised how mental I was being, as it’s barely October.
And we should be enjoying Autumn! I now intend to focus my energies instead on
planning a marvellous Halloween party, devising a scary costume for said party,
and baking massive amounts of Yorkshire parkin. If you find yourself stressing
over Christmas months in advance – please give yourself a break. It’s ages way
and once you start mulling wine I’m sure all your present ideas will fall into
place. Just give it time.
--
-
Feeding a friend -
My
recipe this week, readers, is one I cooked on a weekend with the Mr recently.
We’d been out sipping pumpkin spice lattes in the day and feeding the squirrels
in the Botanical Gardens, and fancied a healthy, vegan tea for our night in at
home. Something warm and filling – but packed full of good vegetables, too!
So,
we got the ingredients in for a BOSH! recipe for Irresistible Risotto and
cooked this together in the evening. We’ve made this recipe together before and
had a string of bad luck when it comes to toasting the nuts – normally we burn
them to a crisp in the oven! But it all went to plan this time and the Mr is
very patient as slowly stirring a risotto while it cooks – so our tea was
nicely creamy and not at all stuck to the pan, as it would be if I were in
charge.
In
the words of the BOSH! guys...
This
risotto is bursting with colour, flavour and healthy goodness. We’re big fans
of getting as much green into our bodies as possible to give us the vital
nutrients we need. This dish is testament to that, but it’s also delicious.
Cook slowly, add the stock bit by bit and you’ll have a dish guaranteed to
please!
Think
you could fancy this pleasing tea?? If you’d like to give the recipe a go
yourself, here’s how it’s done in just ten simple steps…
--
- BOSH!
Irresistible Risotto -
Ingredients:
60g macadamia nuts, 1 red onion, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 handful of fresh
herbs (such as sage, parsley and mint), 75g green beans, 60g asparagus, 60g
kale, ½ lemon, 900ml vegetable stock, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 225g risotto
rice (such as Arborio or Carnaroli), 125ml dry white wine, 75g garden peas, 3
tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 ½ tablespoons dairy-free butter, salt and
black pepper
1. Start
as you wish to go on – with some calm. I suggest pouring a leisurely drink for
yourselves and setting a little relaxing music playing in the background. Let
some fresh air in and clear away and clutter in your kitchen. Heat the oven to
160C.
2. Begin
by spreading the macadamia nuts over a small baking tray, put the tray in the
oven and leave your nuts to toast for 5-8 minutes, until golden.
ChefBeHere Top
Tip: Don’t forget about your nuts in the oven!
3. Once
it’s time for your nuts to come out – safely remove the tray from the oven and
then turn off. Leave your nuts to cool slightly, then roughly chop.
4. Meanwhile,
you can be prepping some veg. Peel and finely chop the red onion and garlic.
Chop the herbs. Slice the green beans into 2cm pieces. Snap the tough ends off
the asparagus and cut the stems into 1cm pieces. Remove the tough stems from
the kale and roughly chop. Finely grate the zest of the lemon.
5. Now
you’re all set! Boil the kettle and make up 900ml vegetable stock in a medium
saucepan. Leave your stock on a low heat and keep warm.
6. In a
separate wok or large non-stick frying pan, add a splash of cooking oil and
heat. Then add the chopped onions and cook until they begin to soften, after about
10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another minute. Then, pour in the rice
and toast for a further minute.
7. Turn
up the heat slightly and pour in the white wine – now we’re talking! Simmer
until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, stirring frequently. Then add
the green beans and asparagus to the pan and give everything a good stir.
ChefBeHere
Top
Tip: If there’s leftover wine in your bottle – do drink it.
8. Now it’s
time to start adding a ladleful of stock at a time to the big pan, stirring
continuously and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding the next
ladleful.
9. Once
you’ve added the last of your stock to the pan, chuck in the peas and kale to and
continue to cook everything together for a further 5 or so minutes, until the
rice is just cooked and all the vegetables are tender.
10. It’s
tea time! Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the chopped herbs, nutritional
yeast, lemon zest, macadamia nuts and dairy-free butter. Season with salt and
pepper, and that’s all your ingredients used now. Spoon the risotto out between
a couple of bowls, saving any leftover for your lunch tomorrow. Tuck in!
--
- Recipe
round up -
And
that’s all there is to it, readers! What do you reckon? Would this be a recipe
you might take on? Does it sound right up your alley? Have you made this one
before, maybe, or taken on a similar risotto recipe in the past?
Whether
you’re a regular to risotto cooking (not me), or whether this is a dish you usually
reserve for ordering out from an Italian menu (like me!), I would highly recommend
anyone try their hand at this BOSH! recipe. There are so many vitamin-filled
ingredients packed into this one dish – it’s sure to help see any Autumn cold
on its way and have you feeling better soon.
Plus,
to say this is a vegan recipe you wouldn’t know it to taste it – I think this a
delicious tea that most people would enjoy eating – and there are quite a few
steps to the recipe, but you can take them on at a leisurely pace while you’re
stirring your pan and singing along to the music. You don’t have to be hurried
or frantic in order to pull this risotto off.
There
is one unusual ingredient you’ll need – the nutritional yeast. This can be
found sold in most large supermarkets, and I got mine from The Incredible Nutshell in Sheffield, which is a speciality shop
for vegan cooking ingredients. Other than that, your ingredients should all be
straightforward to source and not too expensive to buy – as it’s mainly
vegetables!
To
risotto, or not to risotto? I shall leave you to decide. Take care, readers,
and take care of your most important people this Autumn.
Spoon
safely,
Hayley
--
-
Closing thoughts -
If
you’ve been inspired to give this recipe a try, readers, whether I’m speaking
to you on the day of this post or you’re reading some far out time in the
future... please drop me a line to let me know whether it went okay. I’d love
to hear how you got on in the kitchen and your thoughts on this dish. Plus,
it’d be fab if you’re able to share any tips you have for success, or your
suggestions to improve the recipe? Please send your wisdom my way.
Thank
you for reading!
