Shared recipe · Italian
Tomato lentil risotto with fine beans and chilli cheddar
Serves 4 · 70 min cook
A slow tomato and onion soffritto, green lentils and arborio rice stirred to a creamy risotto, finished with fine beans and Mexicana cheddar.
Ingredients
Starch
- 320 gArborio rice
Spices
- 0.5 tspBlack pepper
- 0.5 tspSalt
Dairy
- 185 gCheddar
- 40 gUnsalted butter
Sauce
- 200 gChopped tomatoes
- 3 tbspOlive oil
- 2Vegetable stock cubes
Protein
- 200 gDried green lentils
Veg
- 180 gFine beans
- 3 clovesGarlic
- 2Onions
To serve
- 15 gFlat-leaf parsley
Method
- 1Put 1.4 litres of water in a stockpot, crumble in the vegetable stock cubes and the salt, and bring to a bare simmer. Keep it hot.
- 2Peel and finely dice the onions. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Grate the Cheddar and set 35 g aside for the table. Trim the fine beans and cut them into short lengths. Roughly chop the flat-leaf parsley.
- 3Warm the olive oil in a wide heavy pan over a low heat. Add the onions and cook for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and pale gold, not browned.
- 4Stir in the garlic for 1 minute, then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook uncovered over a low heat for 10 minutes until the tomato looks thick and jammy and the oil shows at the edges.
- 5Tip in the dried green lentils and 400 ml of the hot stock. Simmer gently for 12 minutes until the lentils are softening but still have a bite.
- 6Add the arborio rice and stir for 1 minute so every grain is coated. Add a ladle of hot stock and stir until it is almost absorbed. Keep adding stock a ladle at a time for about 16–18 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is tender with a slight chalky core and the lentils are soft.
- 7Meanwhile, boil the fine beans in a small pan of the remaining hot stock for 3–4 minutes until just tender, then lift them out.
- 8Take the risotto off the heat. Stir in 25 g of the unsalted butter, then the grated cheddar that is not set aside, until the cheese melts into a glossy sauce. Fold in the fine beans and most of the flat-leaf parsley. Taste and add the black pepper, plus a splash of hot stock if it is tighter than a slow ripple.
- 9Rest, covered, for 2 minutes. Spoon into warm bowls, scatter the reserved 35 g of cheddar and the rest of the flat-leaf parsley, and serve at once.