Risotto with Lemon Thyme, Prosciutto, Pecorino and Goat's Cheese

Ingredients

• Approx. 1 litre/2pts chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 finely shopped shallots or 2 medium onions
• ½ head of celery, finely chopped (discard any tough outer sticks)
• Maldon sea salt and black pepper
• 2 cloves or garlic, finely chopped
• 400g risotto rice
• 100ml dry white vermouth or dry white wine
• 70g butter
• 85-100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 good handfuls of fresh lemon thyme (or 2 tsp thyme and lemon zest)
• 115g pecorino cheese, grated (or more Parmesan)
• 155g goat’s cheese, crumbled
• 8 slices prosciutto

Method

1. Heat the olive oil, add the shallot or onion, celery and a pinch of salt, and sweat the vegetables for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and after another 2 minutes, when the vegetables have softened, add the rice. Now turn up the heat.
2. While stirring slowly, continuously, you are beginning to fry the rice. You don’t want any colour at this point (so if the temperature seems too high, turn it down). You must keep the rice moving. After 2 or 3 minutes, it will begin to look translucent. Add the vermouth or wine, keeping on stirring as it hits the pan. Add the lemon thyme.
3. Once the vermouth or wine seems to have cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of stock and a pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take about 15 minutes. Taste the rice – is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite to it. Check seasoning.
4. Remove from the heat and add the butter, the Parmesan and pecorino. You may wish to save a little Parmesan to go on the top. Stir gently. Lay the prosciutto slices over before serving and crumble over the goat’s cheese (or mix them in with the pecorino. Eat as soon as possible whilst it retains its moist texture.
5. Serve it on its own or with a crisp green salad and a hunk of crusty bread.