LEEK & DOLCELATTE RISOTTO

It has been a very long time since I last posted a recipe but gradually I am starting to cook again. My little monkey has now turned two and life is slightly easier albeit she still wants to be carried / held as soon as I start cooking. Thankfully she can now be bribed with TV. My husband and I decided to cook this for lunch today and it was the perfect recipe for such a cold, rainy day. Risotto has always been one of my favourite foods and I am obsessed with blue cheese. This is a recipe from the Waitrose magazine last year and it took around 50 minutes in total to prepare and cook.

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 medium leeks / 3 large leeks
50g butter
350g risotto rice
125ml dry white wine (I left this out)
1.5l fresh vegetable stock, heated (I only had chicken)
100g dolcelatte, cut into cubes
2 handfuls of grated Parmesan (plus extra to serve)

Slice the leeks, both the white and the green bits, into rings. In a large frying pan, fry the green parts in about 15g of butter with a pinch of salt until softened. This took about five minutes. When they are ready, tip into a bowl and cover.

Melt the remaining butter (35g) into the same frying pan and fry the rest of the leeks with a pinch of salt for around 8 minutes, until they are soft. Next stir in the 350g rice for a minute or two until hot and thoroughly coated in the butter. If you are using wine, this is the point where you turn up the heat and tip in 125ml dry white wine. Bubble and stir until the liquid has been absorbed.

Add two ladlefuls of hot stock and cook, stirring constantly, until absorbed. Add another ladleful and repeat. Carry on doing this until the stock is finished and the rice is al dente. This normally takes about 17-20 minutes. 

Stir in the 100g dolcelatte and the two handfuls of Parmesan, season and cover. Leave to stand for 4 minutes. We turned the heat down very very low at this point. 

Serve in bowls, topped with some of the fried leeks, a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of Parmesan.

This was delicious, very creamy but not too rich as the leeks balance out the cheese. Ours definitely needed seasoning but it all tasted incredible. I loved the combination of the leeks and the blue cheese and I would be tempted to add some lardons next time. Unfortunately there is no way I will be able to persuade the kids to eat this as they are not blue cheese fans, however that just means more for me :-)

MACELLAIO RC, SOUTH KENSINGTON

Last weekend I had a massage at home (from Urban Massage). It was my first one in a long time and it was utterly amazing. I love beauty treatments but I rarely have them anymore as my life has been overrun by a very demanding toddler. The same goes for eating out, my daughter Olympia is not keen on sitting in her push chair or a high chair, so that makes going to restaurants quite a tricky experience. I remembered from when my other daughter Arabella was young, that Italian restaurants are always great with kids, so a couple of weekends ago we tried out Macellaio RC on the Old Brompton Road.

Macellaio RC is basically a butchers with a restaurant - you can even choose which steak from the counter that you want to eat. Plus it is not just an ordinary steak - it comes from the Fassona breed in the "special mountain valleys"  north of Genoa. Every cut of meat is hung for the exact right amount of time and precise care is taken to ensure the meat tastes incredible.

We were short of time due to Olympia's attention span and so we quickly perused the menu. It is quite simple - there are a selection of small bites, starters, charcuterie and cheese, offal, mains and grill or pasta. 

We started with lardo bruschetta with honey and walnuts and stracciatella served with rocket.

Both were unbelievably mouthwatering and utterly delicious. The stracciatella was incredibly creamy and I think the best I have ever tasted. I adored the lardo but it was a little too much for me, however Pascal demolished the very generous portion.

For mains, I ordered the rump steak served with sweet gorgonzola and walnuts and I can honestly say I have never had a steak quite like this in London. I loved the way it was was sliced and cooked perfectly rare. Pascal ordered rump steak with Tuscan extra virgin olive oil and salt. His was cooked blue and was also faultless.

We had fries and spinach as sides which were great although the steaks were definitely the stars of the show.

Unfortunately there wasn't time for pudding, Olympia had half terrorised and half charmed the restaurant and it was time to go home after an incredible meal.

There are four Macellaio RC restaurants on London, this one in South Ken, another in Battersea, one in Clerkenwell and another in Bankside. The menus are very similar in all of them and each offer a butchery and bakery masterclass. 

I will definitely be adding this restaurant to my favourites list.....perfect for all carnivores.

Macellaio RC

84 Old Brompton Road,
London
SW7 3LQ
Tel: 020 7589 5834

FAY'S SAUCY SICILIAN MEATBALLS

It has been quite a shaky weekend after the terror attack on Friday. I have always been quite blasé in the past and never expected anything like this to happen in the little bubble of London where we live. I was at my daughter's school attending a PTA meeting when we heard the news of an explosion just down the road. The school and police were amazing and we were in lockdown within minutes. I felt completely safe and looked after however as time has passed, reality has sunk in, and our family have realised what a scary world we live in. 

Anyway I have been trying to explain to my 9 year old Arabella that we can't let the baddies win and instead we need to make the most of each moment and practise an "attitude of gratitude". Therefore it was a weekend of indulgence......Diner Style Chilli on Friday night, afternoon tea at the Langham on Saturday and then these meatballs on the Sunday (plus lots of donuts, ice cream and sweets in between)! This recipe is from Fay Ripley's first book, it took about an hour and ten minutes to make and is baby friendly.

Ingredients for 4 people:

For the meatballs:
60g fresh breadcrumbs
500g lean minced beef
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated (plus more for serving)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 medium eggs, beaten
Plain or spelt flour for coating
Olive oil

For the sauce:
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
Olive oil
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
250ml low salt vegetable stock
2 tbsp red split lentils

To serve:
400g pasta or mashed potato or fresh baguette

Put the breadcrumbs, mince, garlic, thyme, lemon zest, Parmesan and nutmeg in a big bowl. Beat the eggs and then mix them in. Using a spoon and your hands, form into balls (about two bites in size) - mine were far too big but I don't think it mattered. Roll in flour and put in the fridge until needed.

Meanwhile make the sauce. In a large pan, fry the onion, celery and carrot over a high heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Next add the chopped tomatoes, puree, stock and lentils and gently simmer for about 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, preheat the oven to 180 C (fan) / 200 C / gas mark 6.

Whilst the sauce is cooking, fry the meatballs in a splash of olive oil, turning until brown on all sides. Keep them moving by shaking the pan so they don't stick. In an ovenproof dish / pan, mix the tomato sauce with the meatballs and then pop into the oven for 25 minutes. Ideally you want to put a lid on the dish / pan but I didn't have one - I don't think it mattered but keep your eye on the food as you don't want it to burn. Don't forget to cook your side if you are having one - we did pasta and it took 10 minutes in salted boiling water.

Once the pasta and meatballs are ready, serve them with a sprinkling of cheese or even a topping of sour cream. Not surprisingly I went for the cheese!

These were really good - not your usual Italian meatballs as you can clearly taste the lemon and thyme which goes wonderfully together. We all really enjoyed them especially Olympia - she actually preferred the meatballs to the pasta which I was most pleased about as I often worry she does not eat enough red meat. I loved the fact the sauce is packed with vegetables too. Another successful recipe from Fay. We froze the leftovers for Olympia although I was thinking I might have them myself with some garlic bread - a perfect autumnal supper.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, CHORIZO & ROSEMARY RISOTTO

Risotto has always been one of my favourite recipes, although I rarely have it in a restaurant unless it is a very smart one, as it is easy to get wrong. Before I learnt to cook, my sister would very kindly make me risottos of all different combinations depending on what was in the fridge. My favourite would always be mushroom, bacon and lots of cheese however as my daughter Arabella is mushroom-phobic, we rarely have them. 

Last week I found this recipe in the Sunday Times magazine however it used pumpkin rather than butternut squash. I couldn't find pumpkin in the shops so I substituted it for squash and it worked very well. Risottos are simple but time confusing and this took about 40 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people:

450g pumpkin or squash, skinned, deseeded and cut into small pieces

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

50g butter

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

300ml dry white wine

300g risotto rice

200g chorizo, finely chopped

2 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped

1 litre hot stock

100g Parmesan, grated

Chop all the ingredients in preparation and make up the stock.

Bring a large pan of boiling water to the boil, add the pumpkin / squash and cook for around 6 minutes until it begins to soften. I did about 7 minutes. I forgot to cut my pieces so just did it after they were cooked.

In a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat, fry the celery and the onion in the olive oil and half the butter until it begins to soften. This took about 5 minutes. Next add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the rice and stir until it becomes opaque (a couple of minutes). Add the wine and cook for a few minutes until the alcohol evaporates.

Add the chorizo and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the pumpkin / squash and stir in half of the rosemary leaves.

Now for the time consuming part! Add the stock one ladle at a time, stirring constantly to give a creamy texture for about 15 minutes. This is good exercise for your arm! 

Season with salt and pepper, add the remaining rosemary and butter and about half the Parmesan. Cover and rest until creamy - we were all starving so only waited a few minutes! Serve with the remaining Parmesan and tuck in.

The combination of the rosemary, squash and chorizo is powerful but it works very well. It is a perfect meal for this autumnal weather that is starting to appear. My husband, daughter and I all loved this and will be fighting over the leftovers. I am definitely keen to try this again with pumpkin - I reckon around Halloween will be the perfect time when we are trying to decide what to do with all the leftover pumpkin!!

VALENTINA, PUTNEY

Last weekend we wanted to do a family activity, however it is quite hard to find something relatively inexpensive, local and suitable for a baby, a tween and two adults! After much deliberation, we settled on a trip to Battersea Park as there is mini golf and a great playground. We decided the winner of the golf, could choose the restaurant for lunch. I wanted to go to Tendido Cuatro but Bella was desperate for us to try Valentina which is her favourite restaurant near her father's house. In the end Pascal won and he went for Bella's choice.

Valentina started as a small family delicatessen in East Sheen in 1991 however it soon expanded into a restaurant as well and now there are 8 branches in London and Surrey.  

We went to the one in Putney and I was impressed as soon as I walked in as there were tasters of mortadella and mozzarella on ciabatta in the entrance...I love a bit of free food. The Valentina concept reminds me of Carluccio's with the blue and white colour scheme and the gorgeous appetising food on display. I wanted to pull up a chair there and then!

There was a fantastic musician playing to the diners and it was a pleasure to listen to him while we perused the menu. There was a lot to choose from - antipasti, salads, pizza and pasta. There is also a children's menu for £6.50. It was a spacious airy restaurant with an outside terrace that looked very inviting.

We decided to share the pizza fritta to start which is fried dough sprinkled with rock salt and rosemary and served with garlic aioli. This was really good - even the baby liked it although we had to wipe off the salt. We were fighting over the last bits. It made a great change from garlic bread.

For mains Arabella had her usual all time favourite, spaghetti carbonara served English style with cream. I have to say I had serious food envy. It was a huge portion with big chunks of bacon and a heavenly creamy, cheesy sauce.

Pascal had the veal Milanese with spaghetti in a tomato and basil sauce. Like Arabella, it is his all time favourite dish. However unfortunately he wasn't very impressed. The veal was greasy and there was too much sauce on his pasta.

I ordered the Cappella Romana which is al forno tagliatelle with Italian sausage meat, cherry tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan and wrapped with smoked speck ham. I have mentioned in my blog before that I love Parmesan and I really hate it when you aren't allowed to keep the cheese at your table. The waiter very kindly covered my pasta with Parmesan but it still wasn't enough. My dish was lacking something - I am not sure what as to me it sounded like the ideal pasta recipe - sausage, cheese, ham and tomato but it wasn't as good as I was expecting. I think it needed more cheese! It wasn't bad but I just didn't love it and didn't finish my plate which is unheard of for me.

We had no room for pudding unfortunately, I had my eyes on the Italian pastries in the deli but decided to give it a miss and tuck into some ice cream at home. I was surprised when the bill came, it was nearly £70 for 3 of us which I thought was extremely steep considering we had only had one starter, no alcohol (just water and a Diet Coke) and no puddings. 
However the service was very friendly and efficient, the music was fantastic and we had really enjoyed half the meal. 

I wouldn't rush back but if a friend wanted to go, I wouldn't say no. Maybe I am just spoilt because there are so many good Italians around London. Having said that I am keen to try the deli......especially the pastries!

Valentina Putney

75 Upper Richmond Road,
London
SW15 2SR
Tel: 020 8877 9906
Email: putney@valentinafinefoods.com