Ingredients
- A generous knob of butter
- 5tbs olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
- Half head of fennel, finely diced
- 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
- 1 star anise
- 400g risotto rice
- 150ml white wine
- 1.1 ltr chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 courgette, halved lengthways and thinly sliced
- Half head of fennel thinly sliced
- 1 small red chilli, deseeded and sliced
- 250g cherry vine tomatoes, halved
- 2tbs capers
- 100g Parmesan, grated
- Salt and black pepper
- 2tbs roughly chopped dill
- 2tbs roughly chopped basil
- 2tbs roughly chopped mint
1 Set the oven to 185 degrees.
2 For the risotto, melt the butter with two tablespoons of the olive oil, then add the onion, fennel, ginger, garlic and star anise.
3 Cover and cook gently for 15 minutes over a low heat, stirring once or twice until it softens. Make sure it doesn't brown.
4 Add the rice and turn in the juices for a minute or two.
5 Add the wine followed by one-third of the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
6 Meanwhile, put the courgette, remaining fennel and chilli on a roasting tray, season and turn in the remaining olive oil.
7 Roast for 15 minutes before adding the tomatoes and capers, then put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
8 To finish the risotto, add the remaining stock to the rice, bit by bit over a low heat until it is all absorbed.
9 Add the Parmesan at the end, and some more butter if you like. Season and allow to rest for a minute, while you add the herbs to roasted vegetables. Serve the vegetables on top of the rice either family style in a large bowl or on a platter, or in individual bowls.
