Merlot and Goat's Cheese Risotto

YUMMMMMMMMMMMM

This recipe came from an online friend, and I've adapted it. She cooks a bit like I do - a bit of this, a bit of that...but I've had to come up with absolute figures to get this recipe down.

Merlot and Goat's Cheese Risotto:

Ingredients:

a dash of olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
400ml "chicken" stock, made with hot water (we use Massel "chicken style" stock)
400ml good, fruity merlot
dash of balsamic vinegar
3 saffron threads, or 1/4 tsp tumeric
2-3 fresh garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 fresh shallots, roughly chopped
a good chunk of fresh goat's cheese (sometimes called "chevre")
1/4-1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup cashews, slivered almonds, or a mixture of both
"knob" of butter

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add rice, shallots, garlic, and stir until aroma is present and the rice is coated. Add saffron/tumeric.

2. Meanwhile, mix the "chicken" stock, merlot and balsamic vinegar together. Add to the rice a little at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the first amount completely before adding the second, and so on. Stir constantly as you add the liquid. NOTE: this will probably take 30 mins.

3. As the risotto nears completion, add the cranberries to the rice and heat through.

4. Just before you serve, add the knob of butter and the nuts, and mix through.

5. Serve risotto into required number of bowls, and sprinkle the chevre/goat's cheese on top in generous quantities.


NOTES:

* You may like to use fresh cherries in place of the cranberries, if in season.
* DO NOT give in to the temptation to add "just that little bit more wine"...it can easily overpower the dish.

Serves: 2-3

Rating: 5!

Carrot Cake With Apricots and Cranberries

This deliciously moist carrot cake recipe is packed full of carrots and succulent apricots, topped off with a yummy buttercream icing and chopped cranberries. It can keep for several days when stored in an airtight container

This recipe comes from http://www.tried-and-tested-vegetarian-recipes.com/carrot-cake-recipe.html

Carrot Cake With Apricots and Cranberries:

Ingredients:

Cake:

3 medium sized carrots, peeled and finely grated
100g dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
3 medium sized eggs, lightly beaten
175g light brown sugar
175g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
grated zest of 1 large orange
175ml olive or sunflower oil

Buttercream icing:

75g butter
175g icing sugar
Few drops of vanilla essence
25g dried cranberries, finely chopped

Method:

1. Pour the brown sugar, eggs and oil into a large bowl and stir gently. Next, add in the grated carrot, chopped apricots and orange zest and mix gently.

2. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground cinnamon in a large sieve and sift into the cake mixture. Gently mix together all the ingredients.

3. Pour the cake mixture into a greased and lined 8" round cake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 40-45 minutes until the cake has risen nicely and feels firm and springy in the middle. Cool the cake in its tin for about 5 minutes then turn out, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. While the cake is cooling, make up the buttercream icing by placing the butter in a bowl and beating until softened. Next, gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar then add a few drops of vanilla essence until the icing is a creamy consistency. Spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle with the chopped cranberries.

Variations:

You could try adding 100g of chopped raisins to the cake mixture instead of the chopped apricots. And a sprinkling of chopped walnuts in place of the cranberry pieces also works really well in this carrot cake recipe. If you don't have any oranges to zest, a squirt or two of lemon juice will do the tangy trick!


Nutrition:

As well as helping to improve our eyesight, carrots also contain beta-carotene - a powerful antioxidant that is believed to combat harmful free radicals in our bodies which can contribute to heart disease and cancer.


Rating: 5!!