There are a lot of useful additions to this recipe, but it’s worth trying the original before rushing to fill a gap you might personally find does not need filling.

Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4

60g butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
350g risotto rice (arborio or canaroli)
100ml dry white wine or 50ml dry vermouth
1-1.25 litres vegetable stock, simmering
1 large unwaxed lemon (zest and juice)
75g mascarpone or robiola
60g parmesan, grated

In a large, heavy-based frying pan or enamel-based cast iron casserole, warm half the butter and all the oil over a medium-low flame then gently fry/ stew the onion and celery along with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent – this will take about seven minutes. Add the rice and stir until each grain glistens – you want them to become partly translucent and to smell slightly toasty.

In another pan on the back of the stove, keep the stock at a simmer.

Raise the flame, add the wine or vermouth and let it bubble and evaporate for a minute. Start to add the stock, ladle by ladle, stirring continuously while everything bubbles at a lively pace, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next. Add the lemon zest after 10 minutes. Continue until the rice is tender but with a slight nutty bite, and the risotto is soft and rippling. This can take anything from 17 – 25 minutes depending on the rice you are using: keep tasting.

Pull the pan from the heat and, using a wooden spoon, firmly beat the remaining butter, mascarpone, parmesan, two tablespoons of lemon juice and a generous grind of black pepper into the rice. Cover the pan and leave to rest for one minute. Beat again and serve.

Additions to consider: mint, globe artichokes, fennel