Recipe for this lovely risotto came from Jamie Oliver's "The Return of the Naked Chef". I've always wanted to make a risotto, but it is not every supermarket which sells Arborio rice. Not exactly available at the local NTUC. Finally picked up a pack at the Cold Storage in Cluny Court. The recipe is fairly simple, but the cooking process demanding as you need to keep stirring the risotto. Ingredients (for 4 pax): Basic Risotto 250g risotto rice (I used Arborio) 2 shallots 1 garlic (Jamie also uses celery, but I forgot about it - and cking another recipe, it doesn't call for it) 800ml stock (theoretically, supposed to make the stock but I used a stock cube, horrors!) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 knob of butter 1.5 glasses of dry white wine or vermouth (I used white wine) Plus 1.5 cups of peas 300g prawns 1 handful chopped basil 1 handful chopped mint 1 lemon (I forgot this too! Which is a real shame as it would have really added to the final product). What to do: Put the stock on the stove, keep it nice and hot. Fry the garlic and shallots in a separate pan, till soft and transparent. Add the rice, and fry it too (raise the heat here). Add the wine, and let it get absorbed in the rice. Introduce the stock, one ladle at a time. Keep stirring. Let the rice absorb the stock before putting in the next ladle. Let the rice cook, but keep an eye on its texture. Supposed to be a little al dente in the middle. At the same time, heat up half the peas, fry with butter, mash them a little. When the stock is mostly absorbed, add the mashed peas, the remainder of the peas and prawns to the rice. Make sure the rice is cooked. Turn off the heat, stir in the herbs, plus the lemon juice (I'm so annoyed I forgot it) and butter. Let the risotto rest for a minute or two. Serve immediately, with a little olive oil drizzled on top. Sprinkle with ground black pepper. Verdict: The recipe was yummy but the execution could have been a little better. I think my risotto ended up a little on the dry side. Maybe I should have kept a little stock on standby to make sure that it did not get too dry. And always defrost the peas fully beforehand, and use Bird's Eye. They're my favourite. In general, I was pleased with my first attempt at risotto despite the forgotten ingredients and the slightly dry outcome. Served it with a salad (tomato and romaine leaves with a balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic dressing). Plus white wine. Lovely.

A little recipe of my own concoction. If you want to try it here are my probably not very well written instructions :- SERVES 2 –3 2 tbsp vegetable oil 140g mushrooms, sliced 2 salmon fillets 4 tsp Thai Red Curry Paste (the amount is down to you really, I use 4 very generous tsp of Thai Kitchen brand curry paste for a moderate amount of heat) 400ml tin coconut milk 2 or 3 pieces star anise 1 – 2 tsp soy sauce 100g fine green beans cut in half 100g cooked prawns The time scale is 15 minutes. So use rice that cooks in 15 mins and everything should work out just fine! Heat oil in the wok. Put the rice on Add mushrooms to the wok and fry for 3 minutes Add salmon chunks* and curry paste. Stir. Add coconut milk and bring to a moderately vigorous simmer (no idea if that term conveys how much simmerage is occurring) Add the star anise and soy sauce In the last 3-4 minutes add the prawns and green beans (if you like your beans a little ‘al dente’) Remove star anise Drain rice Serve ** * If, like me, you don’t have a non-stick wok, remove the wok from the heat before adding the salmon otherwise it will stick to the wok. ** If, when the rice is ready, the sauce is still a bit runny drain the rice and put to one side and continue simmering the curry for a couple more minutes.