Comfort food for cold toes. Saffron risotto with silky baked eggplant and thyme mushrooms.

I came home on Thursday night from work with a brain that felt fried and an appetite for home-cooked comfort food. I watched a storm roll in from our bedroom window that turned the skies black in almost an instant, waiting in hope for the fireworks of lightening to start. I love a good storm. The blinds were swaying from the welcoming breeze and my toes were freezing. Arthur however, couldn't decide if he wanted to catch the blind cord which was knocking against the window edge or start biting my ankles for dinner. Yes my cat bites my ankles if I don't feed him quick enough, it's a serious case of hanger. Must take after his mother.

With a crisper full of veggies for more then two people can possible eat before the next weekly veggie box delivery and a brain that can't think past the saffron risotto my parents made, I knew that sitting and watching the storm was not going to get me dinner. I was thinking baked eggplant (like this), saffron risotto that I used to eat growing up (I called it yellow rice) and thyme and garlic mushrooms that always went will the yellow rice.

After I fed Arthur his nibbles to save my ankles I roughly halved and quartered a bag of button mushrooms and threw them in a lined baking tray along with a huge clove of roughly chopped garlic, some fresh thyme leaves that have been floating around the fridge for a couple of weeks but are surprisingly still green and a generous grinding of salt and pepper. I halved a medium sized eggplant and rubbed the cut side with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, chilli, lemon zest, salt and pepper and placed it cut side down on the baking tray nestled in between the mushrooms. Bunged it all in a preheated (180C) oven and forgot about it for 30 minutes while I cooked the saffron risotto.

I feel I'm in good hands when a recipe starts with cooking onion and garlic until it's soft and fragrant, I don't know what it is about the smell but it promises a good meal and gets the hunger rolling (if it hasn't already started). I can have just started cooking dinner and only have the garlic and onion cooking in a pan when Tristan walks in saying 'Yes! it's out apartment that the smell is coming from!' then proceeded to snack on whatever is edible on the chopping board as swipe his hand out of the way.

This risotto starts with finely diced onion, celery and a clove of crushed garlic sweated down in some olive oil until translucent and shiny. I then add the rice and cook for a minute or so until I hear a sizzle then pour two generous glasses of white wine, one for the pot and one for me. Once the wine cooked away I gradually added in the stock and a teaspoon of veggie stock powder (I know, don't turn your noses up. It won't taste like the one from my childhood if I leave this step out - stock cubes were the only stock I knew growing up) stirring pretty much the whole time. In a small ramekin I soaked a pinch of saffron threads in some freshly boiled water from the kettle and let it sit for about 10 minutes until it becomes a vibrant yellow. The saffron water went into the rice, tasted, seasoned then turned the heat off. Added a couple of knobs of butter, a large handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese and let sit for about 5 minutes with the lid on so it went all oozing, buttery and delicious.

Everything came together at about the same time. The eggplant was a revelation. It had turned silky and just melted away from its skin when scooped out and it had soaked up all the flavours of the garlic, chilli, olive oil and lemon zest perfectly. The mushrooms were better baked then pan-fried like I normally do them, it was like their flavours intensified and they were more mushroomy if that makes sense. I served the scooped eggplant flesh along side the baked mushrooms and saffron risotto, a perfect meal when craving comfort food with cold toes.

To my disappointment the storm passed with not a single drop of rain over head or a flash of lightening, as quick as it came, it went.

Saffron risotto with silky baked eggplant and thyme mushrooms.

serves 3

For the mushrooms:

300g button mushrooms, halved or quartered

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

For the eggplant:

1 medium eggplant, halved lengthways

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

salt & pepper

sprinkling of lemon zest

For the risotto:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium-small onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 stick celery, finely diced

1.5 cups arborio rice
1 regular wine glass of white wine

1 litre chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon veggie stock power (or stock cube)

pinch saffron threads 

salt & pepper

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter

- Preheat your oven to 180C.

For the mushrooms:
- Toss all ingredients together and scatter into a lined baking tray large enough to fit the eggplant in as well.

For the eggplant:
- In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, chilli and a generous grinding of salt and pepper.

- Rub this all over the cut side of the eggplant and a sprinkling of lemon zest as well. The eggplant will soak up the olive oil which is what will make it go silky as it cooks. Place cut side down in the same baking tray you put the mushrooms and place in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, for the risotto:
- In a medium sized pot, heat olive oil over a moderate to low flame and fry the onion, garlic, celery and 1/2 teaspoons fine table salt for about 5-8 minutes, until the onions are translucent but haven't coloured.

- Meanwhile, soak you saffron threads in about 1/3 cup of freshly boiled water and set aside for about 10 minutes or until the water becomes a vibrant yellow then add it to your rice.

- Next add your rice to the onions and garlic, stirring constantly until it you hear a sizzle, about a min or two. Then pour in your wine, once that had been all soaked up add 1/2 cup of stock and stock powder, give it a good stir then let the rice soak up all the liquid before adding another 1/2 cup of stock. Keep adding the stock like this on a low simmer, stirring after each addition until all the stock has been added. If you haven't added your saffron threads and water, add them now and give it a good stir so the yellow colour goes through the whole dish.

- Taste and check the rice still has a tiny bite left in it. You don't want a soggy mess, you want the rice to hold its shape and still have a tiny dot of white in each grain when bitten in half. Season with extra salt if you think it needs it then turn the heat off and add 3/4 of you parmesan cheese and the butter. Stir it through then clamp on a lid and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

- Everything should have come together roughly about he same time. If your eggplant and mushrooms are done a little earlier then turn the oven off and let them hangout there. Scoop out the eggplant flesh and serve along side the mushrooms and saffron risotto. A sprinkle of cracked black pepper and some more parmesan cheese on top and you're ready to dig in.

Bill Granger's Baked Leek and Goat's cheese Risotto with Apple and Celery Salad from Easy.

I loved baked risotto's. It is a meal that feels like you have slaved over the stove but really while it was cooking you were having a hot shower and removing the glucose from your elbows and arm hairs that has been there since 7:15am. And when you don't own a heater the oven doubles as one during winter and warms the entire place up making it warm and cozy for when you hop out of the shower all fresh and clean. The only thing is you don't have as much control over the oozzy-ness of the rice and its easy to over cook it. On Thursday night Bill Granger's Baked Leek and Goats Cheese Risotto from his book Easy was a perfect choice. It's like winter has come late here in Sydney... It's FREEZING!! we even turned the oven on last night when we ordered take-away just to warm the place up a little. So being able to come hom from work after getting stuck in traffic and quickly putting dinner together, bunging it in the oven, having a quick HOT shower, throwing the salad together then sitting down to eat all in the space of 45 minutes is a pretty good achievement and perfect for a work night.

The risotto was very tasty with rosemary from my little herb garden and the sweet leeks and then little nuggets of goats cheese dotted throughout it. I overcooked it a little, I baked it for 25 minutes but should have checked earlier to see if the rice was done but a shower was more on my mind to defrost my toes.

The Apple and Celery Salad was so crunchy and fresh. The supermarket didn't have chicory so I used cos lettuce instead. I know they taste nothing like each other but it still worked and the celery had a bit of fridge sag. Fridge sag? You know when you buy celery and its crunchy and stands up straight, then after a day in your fridge it starts to go saggy and flop over when you hold it up? Well I have worked out a way to concur fridge sag when you still want to use it. Slice it up and place it in ice water for about 15 minutes and its refreshed and crunchy again. Genius!

I've never been much of a fan of fruit in a salad... but here I am trying new things and it was actually really nice and worked well with everything else. The sweetness cut through the bitterness of the rocket and the savoury lemon dressing. The walnut also gave it an earthly-ness which was another element but I found them hard to keep on my fork and they fell to the bottom of the salad bowl making them hard to reach...first world problems when your walnuts fall to the bottom of the salad!

Baked Leek and Goats Cheese Risotto by Bill Granger from Easy.

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
25g unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 leeks, cut lengthways and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp chopped rosemary leaves, plus extra for garnish
250g arborio rice
850mL chicken stock, heated
120g soft goats cheese, rind removed and chopped
50g freshly grated parmesan cheese

- Set your oven to 200 degrees celsius.

- In a oven-proof saucepan heat the oil and butter until the butter has melted. Add the onion, leeks, garlic and salt and cook until vegetables are soft, stirring even now and then.

- Add the rosemary and rice and cook for a minute or two.

- Stir through the stock then remove pot from the heat and add all the cheese, stirring well to evenly distribute the goats cheese.

- Place a lid on the pot and put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check after 15 or 20 to see if rice is al dente yet. Once al dente place under a hot drill to brown the top. (I don't have a grill so I skipped this step). Sprinkle remaining rosemary and serve.

Apple and Celery Salad by Bill Granger from Easy.

Serves 4
(recipe adapted)

100g rocket leaves
1 stick celery, sliced into small sticks (if your celery is saggy, place in some icy water while the risotto is cooking)
1 baby cos lettuce, sliced
1 red apple, cored and thinly sliced (slice at the very last minute or keep in some lemon water to stop it going brown)
handful of walnut pieces
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- Combine rocket, celery, cos lettuce and walnuts together in a salad bowl.

- Whisk together lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and add some salt and pepper.

- Just before serving add your apple and dress with the dressing.

Jamie Oliver's Pea and Herb Risotto from Jamie Does.

Jamie Oliver's Pea and Herb Risotto from Jamie Does was on the menu for tonights dinner for two.

I always get such a satisfyingly domestic feeling when making risotto, maybe its because it needs constant caring and attention. Its a dish when you feel like pottering about in the kitchen but not slaving away. A labour of love...

It starts by browning the finely chopped onions in olive oil till translucent then adding the short stumpy rice grains and toasting them in the onion and olive oil mixture until you hear little crackles and they start to go as translucent as the onions. The sizzle and steam of the pan deglazing when you pour in your cup of wine, starting the little gems on their delicious journey to absorbing what ever home made stock you feed them ladle by ladle. Stirring frequently and giving it your undivided attention until the grains plump up and are ever so slightly al dente. Most importantly making sure it gets the rest it deserves by adding a knob of butter and a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese and placing the lid on so everything rests and comes together. When you lift the lid and get a facial full of fragrant steam all your hard work has paid off.

Sounds romantic doesn't it?

The Risotto Bianco starts somewhat like that and to get the Pea and Herb variation you simmer frozen peas in butter, chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh mint with a splash of hot water for a couple of minutes. Add everything to the risotto (of course adding more butter) just before closing the lid for its rest time.

Before serving, stir some crumbled goats cheese and parmesan through it so it starts to melt. I served a large bowl each with a simple rocket salad dressed in olive oil and lemon juice.

YUM.

...I do have to admit a few things though... there was no wine in our house (we drunk it on the weekend) so I used dry vermouth instead. I'd read a Nigella Lawson risotto recipe a while ago and she uses vermouth instead of opening a bottle of wine some of the time so I thought that was an easy substitute and I used stock powder... I had planned on buying some good quality stock during shopping but I blame the mince saga and was off my game. Even with my substitutes the rice still had a pleasant bite, the peas weren't over cooked and still popped in your mouth like flavour pockets, the goats cheese had started to melt and you got salty chunks every now and then and the mint and parsley livened up the dish making me think of Spring and not being in the mid of winter wearing a thousand layers with the heating on.

The only comment I had is that it needed meat (although he thinks everything veggie needs meat)...I thought it was delicious and perfect as it was.

Jamie Oliver's Pea and Herb Risotto from Jamie Does.
Serves 4
(Recipe adapted)

1 litre of vegetable stock
1 tbs olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
300g risotto rice
125mL White wine (or vermouth)
a couple of knobs of butter
a small handful of parmesan cheese
300g frozen peas
handful of fresh mint, chopped
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
100g goats cheese, crumbled leaving some bits in chunks

- Saute the onion, garlic and olive oil until onion is translucent but not coloured then add the rice. Cook the rice until it is covered in the oil and onion juice and starts to crackle. You want to almost toast the rice grains.

- Add the wine (or vermouth) and stir. Simmer until there is no liquid left then start adding your stock a ladle at a time stirring each addition and making sure the rice has soaked up the previous ladle of stock before adding more. This will give you a silky, creamy risotto.

- When you have added about three quarters of your stock to the rice, start on the herby peas.

- For the herby peas: Melt some butter in a small saucepan and add the peas and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the herbs and a splash of hot water and cook for another couple of minutes.

- Once you have added all the stock to the rice, taste the rice to see if is properly cooked, It should have a slight bite and still look saucy. Add the peas to the rice mixture and stir through. Finally add the knobs of butter and parmesan, turn the heat off, put a lid on it and let it all come together.

- Before serving, stir through the crumbles goats cheese and top with some freshly cracked pepper. Then dig in and enjoy!