Serves: 4
The combination of roasted red peppers and paprika create such a deep, delicious flavour that works so well cooked into a risotto here, plus the colour is breath-taking. This is a great dish to make when you’ve got all of the cupboard ingredients in the kitchen and want to create an impressive dish to brighten up any Sunday lunch.
Ingredients
For the risotto
- 2 vegetable stock cubes
- 1 red onion, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
- 300g risotto rice
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- A large handful of grated Parmesan (or 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast for a vegan version)
- Olive oil
- Salt
For the red pepper paste
- 1 jar of roasted red peppers (350g drained weight), drained
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon of harissa paste
- Pinch of salt
Directions
1Place the stock cubes in a large bowl with 900ml of boiling water and mix until well dissolved.
2Place a pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once warm, add the chopped garlic, onion and a pinch of salt, mix well and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft.
3Once the onion has become soft, stir through the risotto rice and paprika, and cook for 2 minutes before adding a quarter of the hot vegetable stock. Mix well and leave to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring constantly and topping it up with a quarter of the stock every time the risotto rice looks like it has absorbed most of the water.
4While the risotto rice simmers, place all of the paste ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth, adding a dash of water to create a red paste.
5Once the risotto rice feels soft and has absorbed all of the water, stir through the red pepper paste and Parmesan (or nutritional yeast).
6Cook for 5-10 minutes until everything is piping hot and cooked through.
