We’re often limited by the choice of cheeses available to us where we shop, so the four cheeses in my risotto were influenced by what I could get: Edam, blue cheese, mascarpone, and Parmigiano Reggiano to finish it off with. But swop out some of them for your own choices, as long as they are cheeses that melt nicely.

Ingredients

120 g Edam cheese, grated

50 g blue cheese

250 g mascarpone

100 g Parmigiano Reggiano

1 red onion, chopped finely

1 litre vegetable stock

3 cups dry white wine

Handful parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil, or more

500 g arborio rice

Salt and white pepper to taste

Method

Pour the stock into a pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat or leave it on the very lowest heat, just to keep it hot. Keep a ladle handy.

Sauté the chopped red onion in a little olive oil until soft. It does not need to be caramelised.

Now add plenty more olive oil, about 3 Tbsp, and pour in the arborio rice. Stir well so that every grain of rice is coated with olive oil. If it does not seem to be enough, add more oil.

Add the white wine and cook until almost entirely evaporated, while stirring gently.

Start adding the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring slowly and gently, just to prevent it from sticking at the bottom of the pot. Continue adding the stock until it has all or mostly been used up.

Now stir in the grated Edam and crumbled blue cheese, stir to combine, then stir in the mascarpone until well incorporated and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Let it simmer for a few minutes more, then stir in the chopped parsley. Grate Parmigiano Reggiano over generously immediately before serving. Buon appetito. DM/TGIFood 

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