Autumnal risotto

One of the things I don't seem to stop marvelling at are the colours we get at this time of the year. I probably sound like a broken record but I cannot help myself from crying out "look at that, honestly, isn't it amazing? That is why I find really sad, almost disturbing, that shops have such little imagination that they can only think of Christmas decorations. What about all these fantastic leaves, pumpkins (of all shapes and colours), mushrooms, berries, etc, etc?

Cambridge in October blows you away. The colours are blustering. Days are still mild with not much rain. And there are not as many tourists around as in the Summer - and therefore the entrance to all the colleges is free at any time, and not just after 5pm!

So, to continue with the seasonal theme, last night I made porcini risotto. This is a dish which I would suggest if you have dinner parties and want to avoid being flustered around the kitchen dealing with multiple moving ingredients at the last minute. The joy of a risotto is that you can start preparing it and cooking it beforehand, and finishing it just before being served. If you are using good risotto rice like Arborio or Carnaroli rice, you won't risk to get a mushy pap.

Ideally you should use fresh porcini as well as dried porcini. But I know that this would be impossible, so the best types of mushrooms you can replace them with are chestnut mushrooms. They have a lovely nutty and earthy taste. Also, if you can find it in a good Italian deli, another secret ingredient is porcini stock. Added to the water, it adds a lot of flavour.

Porcini Risotto

For 4 people

400g Arborio or Carnaroli rice;

300g fresh mushrooms;

100g dried porcini;

1l hot water;

2 garlic cloves;

1 porcini stock (or vegetable);

1 glass of red wine;

1 handful of parsley;

100g parmisan;

a knob of butter;

2 tbsp olive oil

1. Peel and chop into half the garlic cloves. In a pan golden up the garlic with the oil. When the oil is warm and the garlic has started getting colour, add the knob of butter and let it melt slowly.

2. Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl with warm water and cover. The mushrooms will need to soak up some of the water.

3. Add the rice to the pan and toss well to ensure that all grains get coated with the butter/oil. Continue until the rice looks golden.

4. Make the stock with hot water. Add some of this water to the rice (it will fizzle a bit). Add some of the fresh mushrooms and stir well.

5. Add to the rice the water where the dried porcini had been soaking. Chop in small pieces the dried porcini and add them to the rice.

6. Continue adding the stock and porcini water to the rice. It must never be dried and the grains must cook slowly. The rice will acquire a lush glossiness. Add salt (probably 2 tsp) to taste.

7. Add the rest of the fresh mushrooms. When the rice is almost cooked, add the glass of wine and let it evaporate.

8. When the rice is practically cooked, add the chopped parsley.

9. Sprinkle the grated parmisan and mix well. Serve with a few parsley leaves and more parmisan on top.

We don't want Christmas decorations!

Yesterday I made my monthly appearance to the shops in the centre of town. You must know that where we live it feels like a real village community despite being only 15minutes walk from the main market square of Cambridge. Shops are local (the photo above was taken in the organic UrbanLarder) and don't belong to big chains (I am ignoring the newly opened Tesco, for me that doesn't even exist), people are friendly and recognise you so will say hello and smile. This heaven is called Romsey Town.

Well my decision to have only monthly visits to Cambridge is a clever one. But I wish I had stretched it to two months..... Christmas decorations are out already!! On 26th October. I couldn't believe it. This year they haven't even waited for Halloween ...one switches from beach barbeque sets with colourful Pimms' glasses to fake snowy peaks and made-in-China baubles. I find it slightly worrying.

I find Autumn colours so inspiring... I'm sure we could fill our shopping windows with leaves, pumpkins, and mushrooms (without turning the shop into a garden centre). As I said before, I will never ever again buy strawberries in January and my kitchen will be filled up with seasonal smells. So today I made the Autumnal soup par excellence.

Autumnal soup with Ricotta

100g butternut squash (or pumpkin);

100g parsnip;

50 celeriac;

half onion;

1l vegetable stock;

100g ricotta;

1tsp chopped thyme and rosemary (each);

100g kale;

1 tsp soy sauce

1. Make the soup. Peel all the vegetables and chop them small so that they cook quickly.

2. Chop the onion very finely. In a pan (the size depends on the amount of soup you want to make) cook the chopped onion in a couple of spoons of oil until golden. Add the herbs and toss well. Add a tsp of salt.

3. Make the stock and pour it onto the cooked onion. Let it babble for a minute. Add the vegetables and close the pan with the lid.

4. When the vegetables are cooked, blitz to make it smooth (to the horror of my husband who calls this a "baby-meal").

5. In a separate pan, warm a table spoon of oil and when it's hot (you can tell when the oil starts babbling - I wouldn't suggest to stick your finger in it!), drop the kale all at once so that it sizzles quickly. I love this sound! Let it crinkle for a minute, add a splash of soy sauce. Remember that soy sauce is quite salty so you won't need to add extra salt to the kale.

6. Spoon some of the soup into a bowl and add the ricotta and incorporate it with a spoon. I also added a few leaves of basil as I still have some persevering plants on my window sill.

7. Add the sizzle kale on top of the soup.

As always, I'm too greedy and never remember to take a photo before I start tucking into my dish! So you might notice bits of soup already on the sides of the bowl....I think I also exaggerated with the kale on top of the soup....

The weather is still good enough to enjoy lunch in the garden. The leaves on our patio are still hanging on there but I feel not for long. The colours are great though. There are even some enduring flowers which kept me company while I was devouring my soup...

Autumn in Lode