What to Cook Tonight: Butternut Risotto with Toasted Nori

Anne Bunner’s Butternut Risotto with Toasted Nori

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 vegetable stock cube or 1 tsp powdered bouillon
1 litre water
1 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, peeled and finely chopped
300g risotto rice
300g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 sheet nori
1 tbsp cr’me fra?che

Method

In a saucepan, dilute the stock cube in the litre of water. Bring to the boil and keep it boiling.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the onions over a medium heat. Stir them well until translucent. Add the rice and stir again, then add the butternut squash pieces. Ladle over enough boiling stock to cover, and keep adding more hot stock as the rice absorbs the liquid.

While the risotto is cooking, cut the nori sheet into four and grill each piece over an open flame for a few seconds, just so the edges curl. Set aside to cool, then crumble into pieces.

When the risotto is cooked, remove from the heat and mix in the cr’me fra?che. Sprinkle with crumbled nori pieces before serving.

Variation: If you prefer, replace the cr’me fra?che with tofu.

Good to know: You can also toast nori sheets in an ungreased frying pan – just for a minute, so that it starts to curl and turn green.

Extracted from Seaweed by Anne Bunner (Modern Books, approx €12.50), out now. Photography – Elwin Street Productions 2016. To order, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seaweed-Natural-Superfoods-Secret-Vibrant/dp/1906761825/