Smoky Red Pepper & Chorizo Risotto

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.2 litres hot chicken stock
• 300 g arborio rice
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200 g chorizo, skin removed, diced
• 2 roasted red peppers, from a jar, roughly chopped
• salt and black pepper
• 30 g butter
• 50 g parmesan, finely grated
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to serve
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide, heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and fry for 3–4 minutes until it renders its brick-red fat and the edges turn lightly crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving every drop of that paprika-stained fat in the pan.
2. Tip the diced onion into the chorizo fat and cook over medium-low heat for 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, translucent and glossy. Stir in the garlic and smoked paprika and cook for a further minute until fragrant and deeply red.
3. Add the arborio rice and stir to coat every grain in the spiced oil. Toast for 2 minutes — the grains should turn slightly translucent at the edges — then pour in the white wine. Stir until fully absorbed and the sharp alcohol smell has cooked off, about 1 minute.
4. Add the hot chicken stock a ladleful at a time, stirring almost continuously. Wait until each addition has been absorbed before adding the next. After 20–22 minutes the rice should be creamy and just al dente, with a touch of bite at the centre.
5. Stir the roasted red peppers and reserved chorizo back through the risotto. Pull the pan off the heat, then beat in the butter and grated parmesan vigorously — this is what gives you that proper rippling, glossy finish. Loosen with a final splash of stock if it tightens up.
6. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Spoon into warm bowls, scatter over the parsley, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and finish with a final flurry of parmesan.