Winter Warmer: Mushroom, Red Wine & Roquefort Risotto

Sounds like a cross between a heart attack and somebody's posh, drunk old uncle, right? While pretty high in fat, Roquefort is also so strong, that in a 4 person risotto, you don't need much more than what you might want to spread on a couple of crackers, and the cheese and wine scoffing uncle, well, he probably enjoys himself doing so.

As well as not being as bad for you as you might expect (in moderation of course), this risotto is pretty easy to make, as I discovered when trying to find uses for half a packet of dried mushrooms, red wine dregs, and some Roquefort that I had lying around this week. Because of those main components are so flavoursome, you really don't need much else, and as daunting as a risotto may seem, it is really no more than stirring rice while gradually adding stock.

I toyed with throwing some finely chopped bacon in with the frying onions, but was glad I decided otherwise when I came to eat it, as the cheese added as much saltiness as you would want, and the dish was rich enough without the meat.

Serve alone, with a punchy rocket salad, or as I did with some shredded cabbage lightly fried with garlic and fennel seeds.

Mushroom, Red Wine & Roquefort Risotto Recipe

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 250g risotto rice
• 1 handful of dried mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable boullion powder
• 500mls boiling water
• 250mls red wine
• 1 clove garlic
• 50g Roquefort
• 1//2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Black pepper

Directions

Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour over the 500mls of boiling water. Leave to stand covered with cling film for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wide, non-stick frying pan and add the onion and crushed garlic. Cook on a medium heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes until lightly browned.

Spoon the mushrooms out of their water with a slotted spoon and chop. Add to the onions and fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir well to combine.

Pour in the wine and allow to reduce until all the liquid has gone on a med head, stirring to make sure rice doesn't stick.

Stir the boullion powder into the mushroom water, and add to the rice, a ladle at a time, allowing the liquid to soak into the rice before adding more, until all the stock is gone and/or the rice is tender. If the stock runs out before the rice is cooked, mix a little more boullion powder with water and repeat as above until the rice is cooked.

Reduce the heat and stir in the cheese until it melts.

Season with plenty of black pepper and serve.