A triple allium risotto

You realise you must be getting older when the highlight of your Friday evening is making an oozing, creamy risotto.

This one was born of a desire to use up some over-ripe Brie. I was at a farmers' market last weekend at the end of the hot day, and picked up a load of soft, almost molten Somerset Brie for not very much money. Slathered onto fresh bread that evening, it was almost buttery and we wolfed it down with glee. A few days later, however, it was noticeably stronger, and frankly at the point where it was better for cooking with than eating on its own.

I've made leek and Camembert risotto before, and decided to swap the Camembert for Brie. Leeks, a real favourite vegetable of mine, especially for risotto-making. They have a wonderfully robust flavour on their own, but I wanted to add some extra dimensions. Some sweated onion would add another layer of flavour. And I had some roasted onions in the fridge that I'd cooked the day before, so those went in too. So maybe it's technically a double allium risotto, depending on whether you count the fried and roasted onions separately.

If you don't feel like roasting onions specially for this recipe, you could still have a triple allium risotto by frying shallots along with the onion, or maybe by adding some chopped spring onions five minutes before the end of cooking time. Or what about griddling a few spring onions and then laying them on top of the finished risotto?

It's up to you how finely you chop the leeks - I like to do cut some of them thin so they merge with the rice, but also leave in a few chunky bits to add texture.

Ingredients 

Serves 2 generously

1 onion, finely chopped
1 onion, cut into eighths and roasted until soft, then chopped a bit smaller (optional, see note above)
1 large leek or 2 small ones, chopped to your liking 
1 knob butter
200g risotto rice
1 litre vegetable stock or water
1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh thyme, leaves picked
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary needles, finely chopped (optional)
2 bay leaves
100ml white wine
50-75g full-flavoured Brie or Camembert, cut into small cubes

Method

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the chopped leek and the raw onion. Cook on a medium to low heat for about 10 minutes, or longer if necessary, until the vegetables have collapsed and are quite soft, but not browned. Add the rice and herbs and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Heat the stock or water to nearly boiling point and add a ladleful or so to the rice and leek mixture. Stir it in, adding more liquid when each batch has been absorbed. Continue for 20-30 minutes or until the rice seems creamy, without too much resistance when you bite into it.

Stir in the cheese and wine, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes and then serve. It's up to you whether you make sure the cheese is really well mixed in or if you like to find little molten puddles of cheese in your risotto.