A beautiful sorrel risotto with crumbled goat's cheese

The sorrel is flash-cooked here, then stirred though right at the end of cooking. This gives the risotto a vibrant green colour and a really fresh taste. I think goat's cheese adds a beautiful creaminess, so I've roasted some here. Crumble it over the risotto when you serve it – it balances the flavours beautifully.

Ingredients

2 litres organic vegetable or chicken stock

olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped

600 g risotto rice

250 ml vermouth or dry white wine

1 goat's cheese, approximately 100g

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 dried red chilli

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1 whole nutmeg

300 g sorrel, washed and dried

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1-2 handfuls Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving

½ lemon

extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan and keep warm. In a separate large pan, add a splash of olive oil, the onion and celery, and cook gently for about 15 minutes until softened. Add the rice and turn up the heat a bit. Keep stirring to stop it catching. After a minute or two, pour in the vermouth or wine and stir constantly until the alcohol has evaporated, leaving the rice with a lovely perfume.

Turn down the heat and add a ladleful of warm stock. Keep stirring until the rice has fully absorbed the stock, then add another ladleful. Continue to add the stock, one ladleful at a time, until it's all absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes and give you rice that is beginning to soften but is still al dente.

Meanwhile, pop the goat's cheese onto a roasting tray, sprinkle over the fennel seeds and red chilli, and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Next, heat a deep saucepan on a medium heat, then add 1 tablespoon of butter, a splash of olive oil, the garlic and a good grating of nutmeg. Once the butter has melted, add the sorrel and cook for about 2 minutes, moving it around until it's just wilted down. Take the pan off the heat, let the sorrel cool slightly, then chop it finely and season to taste.

Take the pan of rice off the heat, add the chopped sorrel and beat in the remaining butter and grated Parmesan. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice, then check the seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if needed. Pop a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a minute, while you remove the goat's cheese from the oven.

Dish up your risotto, grate a little lemon zest over the top, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, and top with another grating of Parmesan. Serve with the lovely roasted goat's cheese on the side for everyone to crumble over the top.

Nutritional Information - Amount per serving:

Calories525kcal

Carbs72.3g

Sugar6.3g

Fat13.7g

Saturates6.6g

Protein17.8g

by Jamie Oliver