 |
| Walnuts |
We have just returned from a FANTASTIC few days staying with friends
in Belgium visiting Brussels, Ghent, Leuven and the Tintin Museum -
Brussels is the birthplace of Herge and home to the Tintin Museum-
a real must for all you fellow lovers of the boy reporter and his
faithful sidekick Snowy.
We returned with some interesting Belgium beer, some great Tintin
pictures and
a bag full of walnuts..
Yes, walnuts. Not what you normally find amongst your holiday mementos
but a much appreciated, very delicious gift, and a welcome change from
postcards and boxes of chocolates.
.JPG) |
| Tintin everywhere |
 |
| Belgium walnuts |
As those of you who have kindly been following for a
while know I always like to sample the local food and specialities, so you will be
pleased to learn that the Not Just For Rabbits team sampled a range of waffles- plain, sugar and chocolate waffles and even ate a range of Stoofvees, the
traditional beef in ale stew served on chips that is so traditional in Brussels.
 |
| Lots of places to eat in Brussels |
None of these can really warrant a post in their own
right, despite their popularity, however the walnuts proved the inspiration for
a healthy risotto this evening. I was
really stuck for inspiration and just wanted something simple and veggie and luckily
the walnuts were sitting on the kitchen top.
In this recipe the nuts and spinach provide an
earthy simplicity and the raisins create a balance and add a subtle sweetness,
whilst the cheese adds a light creaminess.
WALNUT, SPINACH AND RAISIN RISOTTO
Serves
4
Preparation
to plate time 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
250g brown rice
200g fresh spinach
2 red onions
40g raisins
1handful of fresh cracked walnuts about 50g saving
some to sprinkle over the finished dish
Mixture of parmesan and cheddar cheese shavings-
about a handful
Lots of salt and pepper to flavour
A glug of olive oil for frying
WHAT TO DO:
1. Heat
a pan of water and start to boil the rice for about 5 minutes.
2. Finely
chop the red onions and lightly soften in a large frying pan in the olive oil.
After about 5 minutes add the broken walnuts and raisins and allow them to
flavour the oil.
3. Drain
the rice into a bowl, keeping the water and tip into the pan with the onions,
adding a couple of ladles of the rice water to enable it to continue to cook.
4. Check
every 5 or so minutes and keep adding more rice water to keep it cooking. Also
at this stage add a couple of handfuls of spinach every few minutes and allow
to wilt into the pan as you go.
5. After
about 20 minutes add some shavings of parmesan and a few shavings of cheddar
and keep the rice moist until soft and creamy.
 |
| Spinach,walnut and raisin risotto |
I used brown rice which takes longer to cook than traditional
risotto rice but does add an earthiness to the flavour.
It took about 25 minutes in total but is an easy really
tasty dish. You could use a blue cheese instead of the parmesan and cheddar but
I think it would mask the sweetness of the raisins which would be a shame.
 |
| Ghent in Belgium |
