Fennel Bulbs and Artichokes

The plan was to make Fennel Risotto with Ricotta and Dried Chili, from Jamie Oliver's, Jamie's Italy, for dinner. The other night, I had to run to Whole Foods, and as I've been known to do, I wandered over to the artichokes...and had to buy more of them. I'm obsessed, I tell ya, obsessed! But, really, I just figured they'd go so perfectly with this specific risotto...and I was right!

I've talked about risotto many times in the past, so I won't regale you with more instructions on making it, but what I like about Jamie Oliver's books is that he takes a basic recipe, only explains it once, and then elaborates upon it in subsequent recipes. So, the recipe I chose had, as an "ingredient," the plain risotto recipe. Cool, right?

I gathered my mise en place for both the plain risotto, as well as the elaboration, and voila!

While I started the soffrito for the basic risotto recipe, I also sauteed some garlic and fennel until they were both soft and sweet. That took about 20 minutes, but it's great to just throw them in a pan, cover them, and forget about it.

Once the risotto was halfway done, I added the fennel mixture to the pot and continued to cook it until it was perfectly done! At that point, I removed it from the heat, added butter, crushed chili pepper, lemon zest, ricotta and parmesan and allowed it all to meld together for a few minutes. I seasoned the risotto with lemon juice, salt and pepper, tasting a few times to assure the correct flavors, and then it was time to plate!

The artichoke was a perfect pairing for this risotto, because it added a meaty quality that was absent from the risotto. It was also a very healthy side dish to an otherwise heavy meal...it balanced so well. Without each other, I would have been left wanting more...but together, it was the perfect meal!