Wine & Thyme risotto

Last week I had some unexpected guest at home and was low on supplies, but needed to prepare something to impress my guests. I only had some arborio rice. Them I remembered the thyme plant I bought when we started this blog and it clicked. A good creamy risotto with fresh herbs never fails to impress...

Serves 5

Ingredients:

Approximately 2 litres chicken stock (vegetable stock for vegetarians)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 shallots or 2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

500 grams arborio rice

3 wine glasses dry red wine

Sea salt

1 good handful fresh thyme, leaves picked

Freshly ground black pepper

80 grams butter

130 grams freshly grated Parmesan cheese

160 grams roasted almonds, lightly crushed, cracked or chopped

Olive oil

Method:

Heat the stock or prepare the stock by dissolving stock granules in boiling water.

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil, add the chopped shallots or onions and chopped garlicand fry slowly for about 4 minutes.

When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat. Stir gently to fry the rice till it becomes translucent.

Add the wine and keep stirring. Don't worry about the alcohol as it will evaporate.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of stock to the rice. In cooking risotto, it is imperative that you keep stirring throughout the cooking process. Add a good pinch of salt, the thyme leaves and black pepper and continue stirring. Turn down the heat to a high simmer.

When the stock is absorbed, add another ladle and repeat this process till the rice is cooked.

When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and add the butter and parmesan. Stir gently and leave to rest coveredfor about 2 minutes.

Serve immidiately and garnish with the chopped roasted almonds.

and voila...

a perfect creamy aromatic risotto that will impress... thyme and thyme again :)