Baked ham-and-kale risotto
4
Easy
15 minutes
45 minutes
Ingredients
Method
- 180 g kale, trimmed
- 4 T olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1½ cups risotto rice
- 250 g gypsy ham, chopped
- 1 cup Parmesan, grated
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 free-range eggs
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste For the topping:
- ½ cup panko crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan, grated
- 1 T butter, for dotting
Method
Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Wash the kale leaves, using as little water as possible, then steam for 15–20 minutes until tender. Drain well and leave to cool, then squeeze out all excess water and chop.
Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole on the hob. Stir in the onion and cook gently until softened. Stir in the garlic and rice until coated with oil. Stir in the ham, kale and cheese. Pour in the stock and season.
Bury the whole, unpeeled eggs in the risotto and cover tightly. Before serving, bake for 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender but still moist. Uncover, sprinkle with the panko crumbs and Parmesan, dot with butter and grill for 1–2 minutes, or until golden.
Cook's note: Baking takes away the strain of stirring and makes it possible to prep this supper well ahead of time.
I really enjoyed this recipe. One mystery though: what happens to the eggs? I left them out as I couldn’t work out why you would bury four unpeeled eggs in the risotto before baking it? And then no further mention is made of the eggs. Are raw unpeeled eggs meant to be baked with the risotto and then taken out, peeled and cut into the mixture? Interested to hear.
Thanks.
Nigel, I was just mulling over the same thing.