savoy cabbage, pancetta and fontina risotto

risotto alla verza, pancetta e fontina

for 6

1 small Savoy cabbage, about 600 g in weight

150 g pancetta, finely sliced and cut into 2 cm pieces

150 g Fontina cheese, cut into 2 cm cubes

1.5 litres chicken stock (see here)

Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper

100 g butter

1 large red onion, peeled and chopped

inner white heart of 1 head celery, chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly ground

300 g carnaroli rice

100 g Parmesan, freshly grated

Wash the cabbage and remove the thick stalks. Cut the cabbage into very fine shreds. Heat the stock and check for seasoning.

Melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed pan, add the onion and celery, and cook slowly to soften for 10 minutes. Add the pancetta, garlic and fennel seeds, and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pancetta starts to brown. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the shredded cabbage and let it cook into the buttery vegetables for a few minutes. Add the rice, stir to coat with the vegetables, then when it becomes opaque, start to add the hot stock, ladle by ladle, only adding the next when the rice has absorbed the last. Continue to cook until the rice becomes al dente, about 15–20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the remaining cabbage in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 3–5 minutes until tender. Drain well.

Finally, stir the Fontina cheese cubes into the risotto, just allowing them to melt. Add the cooked cabbage, and stir to combine. Serve with the freshly grated Parmesan.