2tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150g risotto rice, such as arborio
500ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
50g baby leaf spinach
150g cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
100g ham, chopped
25g butter
30g Parmesan, grated
2tbsp double cream
1 Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Fry the onion for 10min, stirring often, until tender.
2 Add the garlic and rice. Cook, stirring, for 1min. Stir in the stock and mix well. Partially cover, turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring from time to time, for 20min or until the rice is just tender.
3 Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, ham, butter, Parmesan and cream. Cover and stand for 5min or until the spinach has wilted and the ham is piping hot. Serve with salad, if liked.
Tradition usually dictates that you add stock gradually, stirring constantly, to make a creamy risotto. Here, stirring during cooking to prevent sticking and the addition of a little cream at the end does the same job.