Match Makers

Above: Pea, Broad Bean and Ricotta Risotto

Above: Russell Brown, Head Chef of Sienna

Above: Jonathan Charles, Dorset Wine

Between now and the end of the year, Russell and Jonathan will come up with a complete meal including a starter – in this issue – and a main course and a dessert at a later date. Whilst all of the dishes and wine matches will have a seasonal edge, they will also be adaptable depending on when you want to cook them. Have fun trying them out, and do please let us know how you get on via our forum at www.dorsetmagazine.co.uk On this website you will also find an archive of Russell’s recipes. 

The Recipe

I can’t imagine my cooking not being influenced by seasonal produce; apart from anything else, with no limits on what ingredients to use, I would probably never get around to putting a pan on the stove! As it is, I do write my menus around the best seasonal produce. At the moment we are in the middle of the English asparagus season, probably my personal culinary highlight of the year, the biggest problem being where not to use those wonderful green spears.

Asparagus is not the start of the seasonal calendar, however. Forced English rhubarb is an early delight with the bright-pink juicy stems making a welcome splash of colour after the browns, greens and creams of winter fruit. Next up are wild-garlic leaves lending their robust pungent flavour to all sorts of dishes. Virtually at the same time we get white European asparagus – you see I wouldn’t want to limit my choices too much! Just imagine how much poorer our menus would be if we used only English produce.

Now I’m not suggesting strawberries in February or corn on the cob in December, but truly seasonal produce from around the world that is not produced in England. Blood oranges, Alphonso mangos, Sicilian lemons and French peaches all appear on Sienna’s menu across the year but now, as you are reading this, it is English peas and broad beans that are appearing. So the recipe in this month’s food-and-wine match is for creamy fresh risotto of peas, broad beans and ricotta – not the easiest wine match for Jonathan but we’ll start the way we mean to go on!

Pea, Broad Bean and Ricotta Risotto

Serves six as a starter

Ingredients

1 small onion finely diced
1 large clove garlic crushed
30ml olive oil
150gm risotto rice
100ml white wine
500ml hot vegetable stock (approx)
60gms ricotta
100gms blanched peas
100gms blanched and skinned broad beans
30gm unsalted butter
25gms grated Parmesan, plus shavings to finish
Pea shoots or small rocket leaves
(You could grow the pea shoots in a sprouting box on the kitchen windowsill)

Method

Sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, add the rice and cook for a further minute until the rice starts to become translucent. Pour in the wine and cook until the rice is almost dry, then add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring with each addition until the stock is absorbed. It will take 15 to 20 minutes for the rice to cook. The texture should be firm but not grainy, the rice should also be fairly wet still. Stir in the ricotta, peas and broad beans and allow to heat through for a minute. Remove the pan from the heat; add the butter and Parmesan, stir and season to taste. Pour into shallow bowls, drizzle with some good extra-virgin olive oil, scatter over the Parmesan shavings and top with the pea shoots.

Don’t dismiss frozen peas and broad beans for this recipe. Unless you have access to the freshest produce, frozen is often better. Just stir the defrosted veg into the risotto without the need for blanching.

The Wine
 
Just as any good chef will make the best of what is available and in season and adjust their menu accordingly, it is worth considering that a good wine list, and also what we drink at home, too, is also affected by the seasons. When confronted with the questions of what to drink we should take into account a number of considerations, and each occasion, mood, plate of food and any other circumstance will usually have an affect on the chosen outcome.

There are some truly classic food-and-drink matches and also some truly terrible clashes, but it is worth remembering that you should not get too caught up in tradition. The notion that one should drink red wines with red meat and white wine with fish is one that is now somewhat outdated and, as consumers, we are even drinking rosé all year round as opposed to just when the sun comes out!

I don’t mean to say that we should tuck in to a crisp chilled fino sherry the next time that roast beef is on the menu, but simply that we are in a lucky position in this country to have the most varied and eclectic wine trade in the world and we can therefore afford to become imaginative when it comes to food-and-wine matching.

In this vein, my wine selection to go with Russell’s Pea, Broad Bean and Ricotta Risotto may seem a little off the wall. I have selected the NV Sergio Brut, an aromatic sparkling white from stellar Prosecco producer Mionetto. The gentle, off-dry and aromatic fruit character of the wine picks up the sweet notes of the peas, while the gentle creamy mousse complements both the earthiness of the broad beans as well as cutting through the richness and creaminess of the ricotta. What a perfect way to kick-start the summer!