Serves 4
Ingredients
Risotto
400g risotto rice
1 litre vegetable stock
100ml olive oil
6g salt
8 turns of black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 medium shallots, peeled and finely diced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
350ml white wine
100ml pistachio oil
1 tbsp chopped pistachio
Courgette puree
4 courgettes
2 inside of cougettes chopped finely
1 clove garlic chopped finely
25g butter
50ml olive oil
6g thyme
2g salt
75ml vegetable stock
7 turns of milled pepper
Courgette Dice
2 courgettes
To serve
2 courgette flowers, trimmed and opened
10g creme fraiche
5g grated parmesan
8 basil leaves, ripped
8 basil leaves for garnish
Fresh parmesan
25g courgette dice
Pistachio oil
16 chopped pistachio
A dash lemon juice
Method
Risotto
Heat a large sauté pan on a low to medium heat, add the olive oil and sweat off the shallots, garlic, salt, pepper and bay in the olive oil, cook for 3-4 minutes till just tender.
Add the rice and chopped pistachio, cook for 3-4 minutes stirring all the time so they soak up the excess oil. Add the white wine and cook till absorbed which will take a minute or so.
Slowly add the vegetable stock to the rice, it will take around 16-18 minutes to cook. In the meantime make the puree.
Courgette puree
Cut just the outside of the courgette so you are taking off a thickness of approximately 0.5cm, so the courgette will look square, then chop the outside finely, and then the white part too.
Heat up a pan on a low medium heat add the olive oil then the butter, once it has just melted with no colour, add the courgette, seasonings, thyme and garlic, cover with a lid and cook for 6-8 minutes till semi-soft.
Then add the vegetable stock and place into a kitchen blender and puree till very fine, then pass this through a fine sieve and cool.
Courgette dice
Cut just the outside of the courgette taking off a thickness of approximately 0.4mm, so the courgette will look square. Then cut the courgette into a neat dice so that it’s nice and square.
Blanch this in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes so they remain a little crisp, then refresh in iced water to cool.
To serve
Finish the risotto once cooked with the parmesan, crème fraiche and oil, adding the lemon juice to sharpen the flavour and then finally add the basil.
Sauté the courgette dice in a little olive oil and seasoning and sear the courgette stalk in a pan with a little olive oil and seasoning.
Sprinkle over the courgette dice, and then the other ½ courgette flower and the basil leaves, chopped pistachio and finally the oil.
Ingredients
50ml Gin
25ml Hibiscus Syrup
25ml Lemon Juice
Dash of Monin Violet Syrup
Method
Shake first 3 ingredients. Strain over crushed ice in a highball glass.Add a dash of violet syrup to finish. Decorate with chosen garnish.
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Images ©David Griffen