Risotto cakes with courgettes

Method

1. For the risotto cakes: heat a pan with a little olive oil, add the onions and cook until softened, but not browned.

2. After a couple of minutes, add the rice. Fry for a couple of minutes until opaque in colour. Gradually add the hot chicken stock, ladle by ladle until each spoonful dissolves into the rice.

4. After about 15 minutes, taste the rice: bite a grain in half and make sure the centre isn’t white. At this point, you don’t want the risotto to be too wet. Add the grated courgette (along with the grated seeds from the finely sliced courgettes) and the parsley. Cook for a further 2 minutes.

5. Add the butter and cheese, along with salt and pepper, to taste.

6. Line a tray with cling film, over-lapping the edges. Pour the risotto mix into the tray and spread evenly. If there is too much mixture, make an aluminium foil ‘dam’ at the edges to stop the risotto from spilling. Leave on a rack to cool for an hour and then cover with cling film.

7. Transfer the tray of risotto to the fridge and leave for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

8. When you are ready to cook the risotto cakes, preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3. Remove the tray from the fridge, turn the risotto onto a board and chop into individual portions.

9. Dust the risotto cakes with flour on the top and bottom. Heat a dash of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry each cake until browned on both sides – you may need to do this in batches. Place the cakes back onto a baking tray, then bake in the oven for 5 minutes.

10 For the courgette fries: slice the set-aside strips of courgette into matchsticks. Prepare a bowl of flour and a bowl of milk. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer according to manufacturer’s instructions – take care not to leave the oil unattended.

11. Dip each courgette slice into the bowl of milk. Shake off any excess and drop in flour to coast. Tip into a dry colander to release any excess flour and pop them in the fryer for 2 minutes, or until golden-brown. Tip the courgettes onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain and sprinkle with crushed salt.

12. To serve, arrange the risotto cakes among four serving plates and garnish with the pea shoots and a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. Place a handful of the courgette fries on top of each risotto cake and grate the caerphilly cheese on top. Serve at once.