Mrs Bailey’s Shrimp, Fennel and Mushroom Risotto

Winter comfort, in a bowl…

Photo by Lucas Lobak Neves on Unsplash

This is another dish that Mrs Bailey makes for her private dinner parties, rather than in quantity for the school; she deems it rather too rich for little girls, besides being hard labour for her kitchen to turn out two hundred portions and more. She likes to garnish each plate with a fennel frond, and will often serve buttered peas alongside. This is not a meal — she says — to partner with an accusatory green salad.

500g shrimp, still in their shells and heads on if possible

1 litre shrimp, fish, chicken or vegetable stock

250g mushrooms of your choice [Mrs B commonly uses chestnuts], halved or quartered if large

1 head fennel, trimmed, halved and fairly thickly sliced

1 teaspoonful fennel seeds

125g arborio or other risotto rice

1 glass white wine, vermouth or sherry

olive oil and butter

heavy cream

parmesan

Set your risotto pan to heat [Mrs B uses a cast-iron skillet of venerable years, and so do I]. At the same time, put your stock-of-choice into a saucepan and start bringing it up to a simmer.