Suppers without washing up…

Well, not quite!

I recently bought this recipe book in Noz

150 recipes, using 5 ingredients (with some poetic license) and 15 minutes preparation time, for all-in-one dishes that are not complicated . Or so it says. Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch to claim these things, but still! RRP ! about 20€, I bought it for 2,99€ A bargain.

I’ve cooked one thing from it so far. I will admit that there was more washing up than promised, but that was because I changed some of the ingredients. It was delicious. So, here for your delectation is a recipe for Rissotto au jambon (à la Fat Dormouse)

For one portion the ingredients given were 1 spring onion, 60 ml arborio rice, 2 thick slices of ham (diced), 60 ml grated cheddar, 125 ml cream of broccoli from a jar. But then…also, 15 ml butter, 125 ml chicken stock, Minced garlic.

I changed it a little. First I used bacon lardons instead of ham – so they needed cooking. Then I didn’t want to use “industrial” cream of broccoli, so I made my own – broccoli, steamed, zuzzed with a tbsp of creme fraiche, a tbsp of Philadelphia cream cheese & some garlic powder. Finally, I couldn’t find spring onions so I used one small yellow onion and one leek (this was for two of us. ) And I didn’t have cheddar so I used grated comté cheese.

So… in a microwavable bowl put the sliced onion with butter and the garlic, if using. Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds. (Mine took longer because I had 1 onion & one leek) Then add the rice & mix. Add everything else. Mix well.

But first, remove your cat from the microwave.

Cook in the microwave for 10 minutes on High. This was where it went pear shaped. It wasn’t long enough by far – even taking into account I had double the quantities (for two of us) It took about 20 minutes on High, in the microwave, and I had to add more stock (I’d already used the 250ml from the recipe) But having said that, it was delicious.

Certainly I’d recommend it as a recipe, despite the fact I used more than 1 dish, because of making my own broccoli cream, and cooking the bacon. The preparation time was probably more like 20 minutes, for the same reasons, and cooking time was much longer. For vegetarians just don’t use the ham/bacon

***

Our other meals this week have been/ will be:

WEDNESDAY: the risotto

THURSDAY: Stuffed peppers with the leftover risotto, more bacon, chickpeas, spinach & cheese sauce

FRIDAY: It was going to be mushroom omelette, chips & salad, until Mr FD cooked himself an omelette for lunch. So now it’s merguez sausages, chips, and HM coleslaw.

SATURDAY: Pasta & meatballs