The Times Magazine - UK (2022-02-19)

The Times Magazine 35

in chicken stock peppered with saffron threads

• that explodes with colour and flavour.
  Sometimes the simple things in life are
  the best things.


• 25g butter


• 1 tbsp olive oil


• 2 shallots, very finely chopped


• 150g risotto rice, such as arborio
  or carnaroli


• 75ml dry white wine


• A good pinch of saffron threads


• 500ml hot chicken or vegetable stock


• 50g parmesan, finely grated,
  plus extra to serve


• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large
   saucepan or ovenproof casserole dish over
   a medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for
   2 minutes. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute
   until it is coated in the butter.


2. Pour in the wine and add the saffron.
   Stir to allow the alcohol to evaporate, then
   slowly add the hot stock, ladle by ladle,
   stirring constantly until all the stock has
   been absorbed, the saffron has released its
   colour and the rice is cooked. This should
   take about 15 minutes.


3. Stir through the parmesan and season with
   salt and pepper to taste. Scatter over some
   more parmesan to serve.
   4. MOROCCAN SPICED LAMB

Serves 2

Lamb chops or cutlets are a quick-fix supper

as they only take about 8 minutes to cook.

I love spicing them up with this yoghurt

marinade. If you don’t have harissa just

use a teaspoon of smoked paprika instead.

• 4-6 lamb chops, depending on size


• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the yoghurt marinade

• 100g natural yoghurt


• 1 tbsp olive oil


• 1 tbsp harissa paste


• 1 garlic clove, crushed


• 1 tsp ground cumin


• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the bulgur wheat

• 240ml chicken stock


• 120g bulgur wheat


• 150g green beans, trimmed and halved


• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil


• Juice of 1 lemon


• A handful of flat-leaf parsley,
  roughly chopped


• A handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped


• 2 tbsp pine nuts


• A handful of pomegranate seeds
  
  
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the marinade
     ingredients along with a liberal sprinkling of
     salt and pepper. Add the lamb chops and coat
     well on all sides with the marinade. Set aside
     for 5 minutes.
  
  
  2. In a large saucepan, heat the stock and
     add the bulgur wheat. Simmer, covered, for
     10-15 minutes until most of the water has been
     absorbed. Remove from the heat, drain off any
     excess liquid and set aside.
  
  
  3. While the bulgur wheat is cooking, bring
     a separate large saucepan of salted water
     to the boil and blanch the green beans for
     3-4 minutes until just tender. Drain and
     plunge into cold water to stop them cooking.
  
  
  4. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying
     pan over a high heat. Lift the lamb chops out
     of the marinade and cook for 4 minutes on
     each side. Remove to a plate and cover loosely
     with foil to rest for 5 minutes.
  
  
  5. Fluff up the bulgur wheat with a fork before
     mixing in the green beans and remaining
     bulgur wheat ingredients. Season to taste
     and serve alongside the lamb chops.
  
  
  
  

PHOTOGRAPHS

Dora Kazmierak

3 4

THE MINI PULLOUT

‘Lamb chops are a quick-f ix supper – they take about 8 minutes to cook’