Strawberry Oven Baked Risotto

Risotto doesn’t have to be laborious, you can make it in the oven. In this recipe, rich buttermilk is used as a more acidic foil to cut through the sweetness of the strawberries. If you can’t find buttermilk, just add a generous squeeze of lemon juice to the same quantity of fresh milk.

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Butter a small roasting tin, or small pyrex dish.
• Hull the strawberries and cut them into small pieces. Place them in a bowl and set aside.
• Combine the buttermilk, the sugar and the lemon zest in a bowl and mix well.
• Scatter the risotto rice and strawberry pieces evenly across the buttered roasting tray. Break the cinnamon stick into two pieces and place them, set apart, in the tin. Pour the milky liquid evenly throughout the roasting tin.
• Bake the risotto in the pre-heated oven for around 30 minutes, or until the rice grains are very soft, and the top of the risotto is crisp and browned. You may need to cover the top of the rice pudding with aluminium foil to stop it from darkening too much.
• When ready, remove the roasting tin from the oven and set the rice pudding aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly, before serving with double cream.