Leek & Spinach Risotto

Serves

This card printed its own 1 / 2 / 4 portion columns — those exact amounts are used where available, and amounts in between are interpolated rather than naively multiplied.

Ingredients

The figure beside each ingredient is its energy for the amount shown, and the bar is its share of the dish — so it is easy to see which one or two are actually carrying the calories if you fancy a substitution.

Raw ingredient energy · 2 servings

Raw weights on purpose: cooking changes what a dish weighs — rice absorbs water, meat renders fat — which moves energy per 100g without changing what you ate. Costing the ingredients you were given is the stable number, and it scales with the serving size above.

Method

1. Boil your kettle and prep the ingredients as listed. Trim, clean and roughly slice your leeks. Thinly slice up your pork fillet into rounds and season well. Set aside. In a pot, dilute your stock granules with boiled water from your kettle (quantity indicated in the ingredients list). Place over a low-medium heat to maintain a gentle simmer.

2. Heat a splash of olive oil in a pot over a low-medium heat. Add the garlic and leeks and sauté for 2-4 minutes until softened. Then, add the rice and cook for a further 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until the grains are nicely coated. CHEFS TIP When toasting arborio rice, look at its colour, when it begins to become slightly translucent, it is time to add the wine.

3. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir it in and allow it to bubble and completely evaporate. Then, add a ladle of stock. When you have reached this stage, turn down the heat and allow the risotto to cook on a slow and gentle boil. Stir quite frequently.

4. When the liquid has been absorbed, add another ladle of the stock, stirring gently and constantly. Watch as the rice begins to soak up all the liquid. Repeat this process until all your stock has been used up (about 10-20 minutes) being sure to keep the heat low and to not add the next ladle of stock before the last has been absorbed. The rice should be al dente on completion (have a slight bite). Keep tasting the rice, if it tastes perfect before all the stock is used up, that's ok!

5. In the meantime, de-core and slice your apple into bite size pieces. When your risotto is about 5 minutes from completion, place a pan over a medium-high heat along with a drizzle of cooking oil. When hot, fry the pork slices for about 1-2 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Slice open to check. Remove from the pan and pour over any juices from the pan over your pork.

6. When the risotto has about 3 minutes to go, stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. Then, stir in the grated pecorino, parsley and season it to taste. To serve, dish up the risotto in serving bowls, top with the golden pork slices and apple. YUM!

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