Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto

I love (love love!) risottos. They are simple, they are tasty, they are impressive. And they are Italian. What more could you want? I agree, they require some practice and they are a bit time-consuming because they are attention-seeking dishes (it's the constant stirring I'm thinking of) but they are always totally worth it. Risotto is definitely my staple meal when I have people coming round for dinner. And if I want an impressive yet stress-free meal I go for one of my favourite risottos - Pear and Gorgonzola. Yup, you've heard it right - there are pears in it and there is blue cheese. And they work amazingly well together.

(c) Charlie Clift

Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto

You will need:

200g risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli)

500 ml vegetable stock

1/2 glass of white wine

1 small onion, chopped into cubes

200 g gorgonzola (dolce-latte works well too!), chopped

2 pears

olive oil

a knob of cold butter

salt, pepper

Cut the pears into small (but not too small) cubes and fry them with some butter until they are soft and caramelised. In the meantime fry the onion in a sauce pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the rice and fry for a minute or two. Add the wine and let it boil off stirring the rice constantly. Then add a ladle of stock and stir over reduced heat. Keep adding the stock until the rice is ready. You can tell it's done by biting through one piece - it should be all soft except the middle - a harder, small, white core should remain. If in doubt read the instructions on the packet - it normally takes about 20 minutes to cook the risotto rice. When the rice is almost done add the blue cheese and pear and stir them in until the cheese dissolves and the dish becomes all creamy. Then add a knob of cold butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with some parmesan and, if you wish, a glass of red wine, because it goes very well with it.

E voila!