Recipe: Chorizo Risotto

In our attempt to make Australia Day slightly more sophisticated and better representative of the multiculturalism of our society, K and I chose to barbecue spicy Spanish chorizo instead of plain sausages.

Two days later, I chose to make a simple risotto with what was left over from the chorizo, using some leftover frozen veggies from my freezer and risotto rice (which should be a staple in anyone’s pantry!). It was tasty, but buyer beware – the strong flavours of chorizo can easily overpower the other ingredients, so adjust your usual risotto cooking method accordingly!

Ingredients

• Risotto rice
• Cooked chorizo, diced
• Frozen mixed veggies, diced
• Olive oil
• Chicken stock, diluted
• Herbs, salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan, and quickly warm up the risotto rice. Pour in a cup of heavily diluted chicken stock and let it simmer slowly so that the risotto absorbs the liquid.
2. Throw in the diced chorizo so that the chorizo flavour seeps into the risotto with the chicken stock.
3. Keep adding diluted stock and water to the pan (to taste) as the rice continues to absorb in the liquid and flavours. Keep stirring continuously as the risotto may otherwise stick to the pan.
4. When you estimate there’s about five minutes left of cooking time, add the frozen diced veggies and season with salt, pepper and herbs to your own liking.
5. Serve and enjoy!

It’s a super easy recipe which you can adapt as needed, with more or less vegetables, different proteins, etc. A few days later, I added some extra sweet corn kernels to the leftover risotto at about a 40/60 ratio. This made the leftovers super crunchy and tasty, and more of a corn salad than a risotto. It was a really nice way of freshening up a familiar meal, and still making it exciting and different!