Very Lazy Chorizo, Prawn and Fennel Risotto – 12sp

 Following on from my success using Very Lazy garlic and chillies in my last post, I was keen to road test the one of the other products that the lovely folks there sent me to try, the Very Lazy Smoked Garlic.

After doing a bit of brainstorming over what I fancied, I set my mind on creating a new risotto dish as I thought this would be the perfect way to retain the lovely smoky flavour of the garlic. The flavour of the garlic goes so well with both the paprika flavour in the chorizo and freshness of the prawns, and the addition of fennel to this dish really lifts it to a whole new level.

If you aren’t a fan of fennel, feel free to omit it from the dish. I blended my chorizo and I wanted the flavour to infuse throughout the dish however if you don’t fancy blending it, just chop it as finely as you can manage.

I don’t usually use oil or butter in my dishes but since an Italian chef told me that a risotto wasn’t a real risotto without both, I always now include a little of each (the oil is essential in toasting the rice so it retains a nice bite and the butter gives the risotto the creamy sheen at the end).

You can see the full selection of Very Lazy products over on their website http://www.verylazy.com/ and you can purchase their products in most major supermarkets. The smoked garlic and chillies are available in Tesco now!

Chorizo, Prawn and Fennel Risotto

Serves 2 = 12sp per serving

Ingredients

Punnet of cherry/baby plum tomatoes (around 300g)

300g prawns raw or cooked

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

30g chorizo, peeled and blended (or chopped into tiny crumbs)

2 tsp each Very Lazy smoked garlic and chopped red chillies

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp tomato puree

100g Arborio rice

125ml white wine

½ stock cube (chicken or veg), made up with 750ml boiling water

1 tbsp parmesan, grated

1 tsp lighter lurpack

Handful of fresh parsley and thyme, finely chopped

1 lemon, halved

Method

To begin, fill and boil the kettle. Then take a large non-stick sauce pan and add the fennel seeds. Toast on a medium heat for a couple of minutes until you can smell their lovely aroma and then remove from the pan and pop into a pestle and mortar. Pound the fennel seeds until they form a course powder (if you don’t have a pestle and mortal you can use a bowl and the end of a rolling pin!)

Next, take the same saucepan; add the olive oil and onions and fry on a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until the onions are soft. Season the onions and then add the chorizo, 1 tsp of smoked garlic, 1 tsp chopped red chillies, the ground fennel and 1 tsp oregano to the pan. Fry for another 3 minutes until the chorizo has turned the onion mixture a light red colour. Next, add the tomato puree to the pan, mix in and fry for another minute. Then add the Arborio rice, stir and toast the rice for a minute. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half.

Next, mix the stock cube with the boiling water and then add 250ml of it to the rice. Stir and begin to simmer, letting the rice absorb the stock. Keep adding the stock a little at a time as it absorbs until you have used it all (this should take around 25 minutes – you made need a little more or a little less depending on the heat of your hob). Once most of the liquid has absorbed, and the rice is cooked nicely, reduce the heat to very low and add the parmesan and butter. Stir through, taste and then season with salt and pepper to your taste. Leave the risotto on a very low heat whilst you cook the tomatoes and prawns.

Spray a non-stick frying pan with 1kal and add the tomatoes cut side down. Season with salt and pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes have a nice colour on the cut side. Add most of the tomatoes to the risotto, reserving a few to dress the dish at the end.

In the same frying pan, spray with 1kal and add 1 tsp of smoked garlic and 1 tsp crushed red chillies. Add the prawns and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until cooked through. Turn the heat off the prawns and squeeze over the juice of ½ lemon. Add most of the prawns to the risotto (use a spoon or fork as you don’t want all the extra chilli and garlic in the risotto pan), reserving a few to dress the dish at the end.

Finally, remove the risotto from the heat and add the juice of ½ lemon and the fresh parsley. Stir through and then serve in a bowl topped with the reserved tomatoes and prawns.

Enjoy!

Please note, this recipe forms part of a paid collaboration with Very Lazy however all views on the products are my own.