Day 41: Wild Garlic Risotto
inspired by The Ninth
Of course, after already writing about Coach’s Wild Garlic Soup and having to make it with three cornered garlic instead…. what do I find? Wild garlic! Sod’s law.
I didn’t find it in my garden sadly. It was an optional add on for my Oddbox veg box. I’m not sure it counts as foraging when it get’s delivered to your door by a courier!
What I really want to make is wild garlic risotto. I love wild garlic risotto.
Back on social media looking for somewhere that makes a wild garlic risotto. And look how amazing this one from The Ninth is?? Now I have never eaten there, but if this plate tastes half as good as it looks then it’s bound to be incredible!
So it’s another French restaurant that I seek inspiration from for my wild garlic.
“Wild Garlic Risotto, Garlic Chips & Creme Fraiche”
I don’t have any creme fraiche. But I do have some soft goats cheese in the fridge so I think this will be a decent substitute.
I make a basic white risotto and then stir in the wild garlic at the last minute. I even blend the wild garlic with a bit of stock first to make a green puree. Hopefully to make a really bright green risotto.
Garlic chips are simply garlic slices fried in oil. Either The Ninth has absolutely enormous garlic to make chips out of, or their portion is a lot smaller than mine! Im guessing the latter. I might be trying to emulate restaurant food, but I’m certainly not sticking to restaurant portions!
Either way the chips add a nice crunch and the creamy goats cheese is gorgeous with it.
What I really want to know is how The Ninth got their risotto so green?? Mine is a lovely light green, but nothing compared to theirs! I’ll have to go and try it and ask them…
Maybe the reason mine isn’t as green is I’ve actually saved a bit of wild garlic for tomorrow. I’ve got another recipe in mind…
Wild Garlic Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 1 stick celery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 150 g risotto rice (I used arborio)
- 175 ml white wine
- 750 ml vegetable stock
- 1 handful grated parmesan
- 70 g wild garlic
- 25 g butter
- olive oil
Instructions
- Put your vegetable stock into a small saucepan on a low heat to keep warm.
- Finely dice your onion and celery. Finely chop one of the garlic cloves. Add to a larger pan with a lug of olive oil and fry gently on a medium heat. You want the veg to sweat and go soft, but not colour.
- Add the rice to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes to toast the grains.
- Add the white wine and let it bubble away until it has all been absorbed. Now add a ladleful of stock and keep stirring. Once that has been absorbed you can add another, and keep going until the rice is almost cooked. This takes time, but don't rush it. Just keep stirring!
- Take roughly two thirds of your wild garlic and put in a food processor with half a ladleful of the stock. Blitz to a green puree. Slice the remaining wild garlic and keep to one side. Save any garlic flowers for decoration.
- Heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Slice the two remaining garlic cloves and fry in the oil to make the garlic chips. This will only take a minute. Leave them on some kithcen paper to drain off excess oil.
- Once your rice is almost cooked add your wild garlic puree to the pan. This should turn the risotto a lovely green colour. Once the rice is cooked take it off the heat. Stir in the parmesan, butter and sliced wild garlic. Put a lid of the pan and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Season with salt (if needed) and lots of pepper.
- Plate up your risotto. Top with garlic chips, garlic flowers (if you have any) and pieces of soft, creamy goats cheese.