Tomato Risotto - The food that should be reserved for lovers!

This weekend saw me making one of my favourite Italian dishes, the Risotto. Hmm, how do I describe the risotto? It is one of those dishes that when you taste it, it is heaven in your mouth and so completely satisfying and infused with such delectable flavour that it makes you immediately well disposed to all those around you. It is a moment to savour, it is a moment you could fall in love! No wonder the Italians are such a passionate people!

Being  at my happiest when I’m cooking for others  I have often wanted to implement a tactical turn to my dinner parties. That is that each person that I invite must also invite someone that I don’t know. Preferably with the view of meeting ‘the one’.  Yes, I could be cooking and sharing with someone I don’t turn out to like, but on the other hand I could be cooking for someone I do, and what’s more, I’d be in my element as the gracious host and elegant chef. Ok, sometimes I’m not gracious nor elegant (throwing out, along with a teeny tiny temper tantrum, lumpy cheese sauce for a fondu, because it wasn’t perfect, springs to mind. A friend insisted on saving the sauce and it actually wasn’t all that bad in the end! ) Either way it guarantees an evening of entertainment!

 One of my regular flavours is a mushroom risotto. I’d heard horror stories about risotto, hours of stirring and well nothing but a(nother) lumpy mass resulting. But this is a dish which, luckily I have perfected and therefore like to indulge my guests, and...well none of them have been gracious enough to bring a nice looking man, as yet unknown to me, to dinner.

But back to the mushroom risotto- a delicious dish that is diffused with delicate morels.  But if you are pedantic about having the diverse woody and nutty tastes that various mushroom types can bring to the dish, then being out-of-pocket is not one of the times that you can make this dish in its entirety. Also, I like to use a fairly good oak barrel –rested chardonnay. While it need not be a wildly expensive one, which would just be sacrilege to throw into the pot, rather than enjoy direct from the glass, a goodish one is still important since the flavours of the wine ultimately add to the flavour of the dish.

It was Saturday evening and not having had anything particular planned, but longing for a bit of company, I decided to invite some friends around for dinner.  But what to make?

It being Autumn, that awkward, but also very exciting time of year when the days are hot, but the evenings cool, I decided on something for dinner that would pay homage to the two seasons that it lies between and settled on a tomato risotto. This Risotto I also make with a less heavy wine, one that has a little more zest to it and is a little more refreshing with a slight summer sweetness (tropical fruit) to it. This along with the tomato and a light side salad of a variety of lettuce greens, tossed lightly in raspberry vinegar and olive oil (don’t forget a pinch of salt and black pepper), is testament to the summer. The cream, which I’m sure the Italians would feel is a culinary profanity in the summer, and also because a risotto has a naturally creamy texture, is a taste and preparation of the winter to come.  You can also serve this with a few slices of prosciutto (or black forest ham) on the side to complete the dish.

Mango, Litchi and Coriander Salad with Chilli and Lime Dressing.

As promised, here is the salad. While there is a lot of sweetness in the salad from the fruit this is well balanced out by the saltiness of the cheese and the sourness of the lime. The coriander leaves (also known as Cilantro in the States, and in Indian cooking as Dhania) adds the greens but also it's own flavour to the salad. The chili adds a spicy tang which balances the dish. This salad would go well with grilled lamb chops, and some simply boiled potatoes tossed in olive oil. You could also substitute the potatoes with Naan bread.


Just one last note before I get to the recipe, and that is that I think that this dish displays the most important part of any dish and that is balance. I cannot emphasise enough how important the following elements are and how balance holds the ultimate key to a good meal: Variety is, after all the spice of life!

As I pointed out above the tastes compliment and balance each other out, even though each of the ingredients have distinct individual flavours, they compliment each other and fuse to become something new. Similarly there is a balance of colours and textures. The bright orange colour of the mango, the green of the coriander and the white of the cheese and the translucence of the litchi, be-speckled with red chili all serve up a visual feast. Lastly texture is balanced out with the succulence of the mango and litchi is set off against the creaminess of the cheese and the crunchiness of the coriander and the chili.

Salad:
One large mango
Eight litchis (peeled and pips removed)
A small bunch of coriander leaves (about a cup when roughly chopped)
80grams of feta cheese (or ricotta)

Dressing:
One lime
One small-deseeded red chili
A piece of ginger, about 2cm thick
30-40mm olive oil (extra virgin if you have)


Peel the mango and cut around the large pip. Then cut the mango into thin (about half a cm thick) strips. Shred the litchis. Place the chopped coriander on a platter. Arrange the mango strips on top. Place the shredded litchi in between the mango and then crumble the cheese on top of that. Season with salt and black pepper (but hold off on the salt if you are using a salty feta)


For the dressing, grate the zest of the lime into a container and then juice the lime on top of that. Finely chop the chili and grate in the ginger. Add the olive oil (it should be about a third of the dressing, so add accordingly), mix and pour evenly over the salad.

If you like you could also add boiled prawns to the salad, at the stage before you dress it. Serve with a garlic naan.

If you have this salad with just the garlic naan I would recommend a Chenin Blanc or with it as a meal or a light Sauvignon Blanc that has citrus overtones in it.

The same Sauvignon with or a Rosé if you make it with the prawns I’d probably opt for a dry Pinotage Rosé, Delheim makes and excellent one.

If you have it accompanying your lamb chops I’d leave it up to you to have a red or a rosé of your choice. But in the red category I’d probably go for a Merlot as that is lightly oaked or a dry red blend.

I don’t think that there is a single wine that you can have with this, for one different wine estates bring out different flavours in their varieties and then two different types of wine can be equally enjoyable but produce a totally different taste experience.

Bon Appétit