Kale in an oven baked risotto

I love kale, and cavalo nero in particular, and it seems to do really well in my veg patch - up until around the middle of June, when caterpillars start to devour it. So I sow it in autumn, grow it slowly over the winter and then enjoy it from March until around now. I usually stir-fry it, removing the central stems and then shredding it roughly before giving it a splash of Worcestershire sauce just before serving, as that seems to bring out the flavour beautifully.

But this week, I've added it to my favourite oven-baked risotto recipe, which is really tasty and uses two sorts of mushrooms as well as cubes of feta cheese. Oven-baked risottos are so much easier than the kind you make on the hob and have to stand over for half an hour - just put this one in the oven and forget about it. It always comes out the perfect consistency with no effort at all!

Oven-baked mushroom risotto

25g pack dried porcini mushrooms
1 leek, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
handful chestnut mushrooms, chopped
350g risotto (arborio) rice
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (plus extra for garnishing)
750ml chicken (or vegetable) stock
100ml white wine
handful of kale, chopped (central stem removed)
100g feta cheese, cubed
Handful of parmesan

Rinse the dried mushrooms (they are sometimes a bit gritty and this gets rid of it), then cover them with boiling water and leave to stand for 15 mins. Meanwhile, soften the leek in a little olive oil in a ovenproof saute pan. Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for 3 mins, then stir in the rice, stock, and white wine. Bring to the boil, scatter in the thyme and feta and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins at 170 C (fan oven) until the rice is just tender and there's still a little liquid in the pan. Scatter over the parmesan and serve with a watercress or rocket salad (my Tarragon Salad Dressing, from a previous post, goes really well with it).

Serves 6


If you'd like to get in touch about this or any other recipe, you can now email me at 
a-cooks-plot@gmx.co.uk



Follow