Cabbage risotto

SERVES 4

“Rice was introduced into Italian cooking from the east, probably arriving in Italy via Venice,” says Paola Bacchia. “It is a staple in Piedmont and Lombardy and widely used in Veneto. You can use vegetable stock to make this dish vegetarian if you prefer.” 750 ml (3 cups) chicken stock, preferably homemade

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 30 gm unsalted butter

½ onion, finely diced

½ small cabbage, thick spines removed, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, peeled, bruised and left whole 200 gm (1 cup) carnaroli, vialone nano rice or arborio rice 50 gm parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve

1 Pour stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over low-medium heat. Once butter has melted, add onion and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes until softened and translucent. Add cabbage and garlic and stir, then add 125ml of hot stock. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage has softened.

2 Add rice to pan and stir so it warms through and is coated with the buttery cabbage. Add a ladleful of hot stock and stir well, allowing rice to absorb the liquid. When all the liquid has been absorbed, add another ladleful of stock and continue cooking as described – you want to keep it quite soupy. Continue cooking for about 20-25 minutes, adding stock as needed (or boiling water if you run out of stock), until rice is cooked but still has a bit of bite. Remove pan from heat, season to taste and remove garlic clove (if you can find it). Stir in parmesan, then cover and rest for a few minutes. Serve on warm plates with extra parmesan on the side.