Risotto of the Orient

The covers were wrapped around me; my eyes opened briefly and then closed again like shutters opening briefly to release the intense nervous energy that had built up over the short days in the run-up to the Christmas Break. I briefly remembered my dog barking in my face and then letting her out onto the garden before feeding her and heading back to bed.

Suddenly; it was 10.30am. I'd not slept in so long for nearly two years. However I felt refreshed in some way and excited as in the preceding days I had survived emotional family encounters and made them memorable. I found myself waking in that strange hinterland between Christmas and New Year where nobody really knows what day it is. What I did know was that my dining partner was returning North and the following day I would be cooking us our very own Christmas Dinner.

In the meantime I walked my dog to a snowy landmark many metres above sea level. For tea I settled on a recipe partly inspired by a Vietnamese Restaurant in a nearby city and my dining partner's penchant for making "fusion" dishes. These dishes are ones that feature ingredients from a number of cultures, such as a Chinese Curry that contains Chinese and Indian Ingredients for example.

With this in mind I settled on an Oriental themed Risotto. Of course Risottos are more often associated with Italian Cooking but I decided to see what it'd be like to mix them with Oriental Ingredients. The ingredients of this dish were:

Half a large Butternut Squash peeled and cut into cubes.
A Spring Onion peeled, topped and tailed and sliced thinly.
A Green Pepper de-seeded and cut into small squares.
A teaspoon of Soy Sauce.
A teaspoon of Powdered Ginger.
A teaspoon of dried Basil.
A teaspoon of dried Coriander.
Two pieces of Star Anise.
Ten Ounces of Risotto Rice.
Eight Ounces of Quorn Chicken Pieces.
Half a pint of Chicken Stock.

On the player was Jethro Tull's seminal 1978 live record "Bursting Out". This lively album sees the band on fine form and full of confidence during their tour in support of their agricultural themed masterpiece "Heavy Horses".

The first job was to pour some Olive Oil into my Le Cresceut and add the vegetables and spices. I stirred them all together and put the lid on the Le Cresceut. I then sweated them for twenty minutes on a medium heat while stirring occasionally.

Next I took the lid off the Le Cresceut and stirred the rice in for around two minutes. Then I added the Quorn Pieces and half the Chicken Stock and stirred them in for twenty minutes on a medium heat. The reason for doing this was to ensure the Risotto Rice absorbed a lot of the stock.

After that I added the other half of the Chicken Stock and simmered the ingredients for another twenty minutes; by this time the rice was soft enough to be edible and the dish was ready.

I served it and on eating it found that the Risotto Rice went well with the more Oriental ingredients and flavours. Of course long-grain rice is regularly used in Oriental Cooking and so adding the Risotto Rice to this dish wasn't a great leap. It was however different enough to create a unique and flavoursome dish that give me a much-needed energy boost in midwinter.

Stir it up- the dish shortly after the addition of the Risotto Rice and the Quorn Chicken Pieces. 

The meal on a plate ready to eat and decorated by pieces of Star Anise that served to provide a sweet and Aniseed-like taste.