All this wonderful sunshine seems to have encouraged spring to come early. This morning we picked sorrel and nettles, I’m making a spring green risotto for lunch, which is one of Alex’s favorites and is particularly handy when you live far from the shops or great if you are on a tight budget- and it also tastes pretty delicious.
Ingredients:
Risotto rice (2 cups), 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 lemon, olive oil (2 tbsp), Parmesan cheese, glass of white wine, 1 pint of veg stock. A large bunch of sorrel & nettle tops, pick either young nettles or take the top 4 leaves off older nettles. Marigold gloves are perfect for the job.
Directions:
This is a lovely quick lunch, which can easily be done over an open fire- but make sure you just keep stiring to stop it sticking to the pan.
First put oil in the pan and add the chopped onion, cook for five minutes and add the chopped garlic. Add the rice ( 2 cupfuls), stir so coated in oil. Then add a ladle of veg stock and stir, keep adding the stock and stirring, grate half the lemon’s rind into the pot, followed by all the juice, stir and then add the white wine (optional). Keep tasting the rice, you want it to be soft to the taste. Add the nettles and let them cook down for five minutes. Don’t worry once cooked the sting disappears. Add the sorrel and grate in the cheese to taste, stir and serve! delicious-it’s really good with a chickweed salad.
Alex and I tend to use this three legged cast iron pot for our outdoor cookery, it’s a great size and easy to work with over a fire. We found it in a flea market in France and managed to bring it back in our rucksack- not very lightweight for back packing!
If you want to learn more about outdoor cookery we are running weekend courses throughout the spring and summer.
