← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 4 medium artichokes
• 1 Lemon
• 1.2 l vegetable stock, kept hot
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Shallot, finely chopped
• 320 g risotto rice (carnaroli or arborio)
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 40 g cold butter, diced
• 50 g parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
• 1 handful parsley or mint, chopped
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Squeeze the lemon into a bowl of cold water. Snap off the tough outer leaves of each artichoke until you reach the pale ones, trim the top third and peel the stem. Halve, scoop out any fuzzy choke and slice thinly, dropping the slices into the lemon water as you go.
2. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat and cook the shallot for 3 min until soft. Drain the artichokes, add them with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 min until starting to soften.
3. Add the rice and stir for 2 min until the grains look glassy at the edges. Pour in the wine and stir until it has almost gone.
4. Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring often and waiting until each ladle is almost absorbed before adding the next. After 18–20 min the rice should be tender with a slight bite and the risotto loose and creamy.
5. Take the pan off the heat, add the butter and parmesan and beat hard with a wooden spoon for 1 minute until glossy. Cover and rest for 2 min, then stir in the herbs, season and serve.

Tips

• Short of fresh artichokes? Use 280 g drained artichoke hearts in oil and add them halfway through cooking.
• Check your stock is gluten-free, and use a vegetarian hard cheese if you avoid animal rennet.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano Jamie Oliver