Day 76: a side of sunshine

This has been on my radar since I first saw it in Nigellissima, and considering that was on my first perusal of it over nine years ago - when I received it as a Christmas present from my husband (then boyfriend) for our first Christmas after meeting - that is quite some time to remain on a radar, unattended. It’s funny how appointments or revision for exams - the boring stuff - are a struggle to keep in my brain, yet remembering the foods I want to try is absolutely no issue at all. It’s just remembering to actually try them that’s the problem!

I was looking for a starchy-side, that wasn’t potato, rice or pasta, to go alongside my Greek-inspired lamb and fennel stew and I thought the fragrant creaminess of Nigella’s Saffron Orzotto would be just perfect.

Nigella’s Saffron Orzotto

I would argue this required less effort than making mashed potato: I hate mashing potato and this only calls for a very small amount of chopping and grating - minimal stirring - and you have yourself a substantial and very delicious side dish. I do have an electric potato masher, which I am eternally grateful for(!), but even the washing up of that could be considered more effort than making this orzotto.

I had forgotten to buy onions or shallots, but there was a silver lining: I found a whole leek in my fridge door reaching for the light (it had grown a few inches), so I used that in their stead. I opted to include the mascarpone. It’s highly unlikely you’ll find me turning down the opportunity to add extra dairy to something - unless I just didn’t have it in the house. Although, if I hadn’t bought some mascarpone for this, I’d have been tempted to use a little double cream in its place.

Minimal effort and no fuss, and something I will make on repeat. The hubby isn’t too fond of barley, but I’ve always loved its chewy, nutty texture - particularly in stews or soups - and it was first for me to try it as a side dish.

Flavour musings

The golden creaminess of Nigella’s Saffron Orzotto makes it a perfect side of sunshine. It smells divinely fragrant and I love the chewy bite of the saffron-stained barley grains and the salty sharpness of the parmesan. And it went great with this Greek-inspired lamb and fennel stew, which, for anyone interested, was made of leftovers from Nigella’s Herbed Leg of Lamb (frozen and thawed), fresh fennel, fennel seeds, tomatoes, ouzo and other herbs/seasoning: inspired by the flavours used in Nigella’s Greek Squid with Orzo Pasta.

Leftover orzotto: I added extra parmesan, more mascarpone and some extra stock (and dry vermouth) - turning it into a runny risotto-type dish - and mixed through some roasted chicory, scattered over some pan-fried prosciutto (influenced by a tip for ultra-thin pancetta within the recipe intro in Nigellisima) and then finished with fresh red chicory (baby spears from the heart), a crumbling of chestnuts and a drizzling of a green salsa-type thing (blitzed parsley, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and extra virgin olive oil). Divine.