Cauliflower Risotto

So it's rainy in Switzerland and rather cold, but I will hold another soup recipe for one more week. But I'll love to share next week. Because I'm working full-time now, I am always looking for ways to cook things that will reheat well and still feel comforting, because fall is call about comfort food for me. 

This recipe is from the June/July 2014 winter issue of Donna Hay magazine. It's super easy and I love the way how the cauliflower blends with the risotto rice. The original recipes serves this risotto with crispy cooked chicken breasts and the risotto sprinkled with chopped toasted walnuts and crispy pan-fried sage. I took the risotto to work every day and started off topping it with chicken breast, but the other day threw some prawns in there for a change. Topping it off with whatever protein you like makes it super easy and versatile. Also, I used a lot less butter. And I left the garlic out. 

Here's the recipe:
500g (17.5 oz) cauliflower
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small onion
(2 cloves garlic)
1/3 cup (80ml) white wine
1 1/2 cups (300g) risotto rice
1.5 liters hot chicken / vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 x 200g (7 oz) chicken breast fillets, skin on if you like
sea salt and black cracked pepper
1/2 cup (50g) walnuts
1 cup sage leaves
(mascarpone, to serve)

1) Roughly chop the cauliflower. Place the florets in the bowl of a food processor and, with short pulses, process until the mixture is finely chopped. You might have to work in batches. If you don't have a food processor, you can take the whole head of cauliflower and grate it on a box grater.

2) Finely chop the onion. Heat the stock in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a large deep-sided frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes until softened. 

3) Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Cook, stirring frequently, for 18 minutes while adding the stock, one cup at a time, allowing to absorb between each addition. 

4) Add the cauliflower and cook for a further 5-7 minutes.

5) Heat a small pan over high heat. Add the olive oil, walnuts and sage and cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned. 

6) Divide the risotto between plates and top with the mascarpone, if using it, and walnut sage butter. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Serves: 4 according to the recipe, 6 in my opinion for a meal and probably 8 as a side.
Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: about 40 minutes

Here's how it looks:

I loved how the cauliflower blends with rice. It is not very colorful as the only color in the picture comes from the prawns I added. But the taste is very nice. The cauliflower add a little bit of bite and a lot of its distinct, slightly sweet taste. You probably could omit any added salt, because the vegetable stock usually already has a lot of salt in it. Just make sure you taste along.

A risotto will always get you work - except you're trying Donna's recipes for oven-baked risotto. This is not one of them, but sometimes it's worth the effort and time. 

Have fun trying and enjoy this warming, seasonal treat!