KALE & PROSCIUTTO RISOTTO

My blog has been a little quiet of late, due to some totally crazy renovations than myself, my fiancée Chris and his amazing parents have been involved in. But it will all be worth it when Chris & I move into our very first home at the end of October. With 14-15 hours of our day accounted for filled with work, renovating and travelling across Brisbane there has not been much, if any, time to cook. I have truly missed it. So much so that I ignored my tired body screaming at me to sit down last night and instead cooked three dinners so I would be able to blog about something other than how renovations are much more physically and emotionally draining that I had ever thought possible. Because who honestly wants to hear about that? Thanks to gourmet farmer Matthew Evans for the inspiration for this simple yet moreish recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 medium leek, white part only, finely chopped
• 2 long thin slices of prosciutto, finely chopped
• 2 cups (400g) arborio rice
• 1 medium bunch kale, stems removed, washed & roughly chopped
• 1.75 - 2 litres (7 - 8 cups) vegetable stock 
• sea salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

COOKING 

1. Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and prosciutto and cook, stirring regularly, for 3-4 minutes or until the leek is soft but not burnt. Add the rice and kale and stir well until combined. 

2. Add the vegetable stock one ladleful or 1/2 cup at a time to the pan, making sure to stir the risotto constantly and only add another ladleful when the stock in the pan has been completely absorbed. When all the stock has been absorbed by the rice, taste the rice to see if it is tender. If it is not, add a splash of water and continue to stir, taste-testing the rice again when the water has been absorbed. If / when the rice is tender,  stir in the sea salt & pepper. Serve warm, sprinkled with basil. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 12 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 30 minutes 

x Emily