Risotto's not something to mess with...

I love risotto. I love Nigella. It would make sense then that I would be keen as a jelly bean to try out her new risotto recipe in Nigella Express; Cheddar Cheese Risotto. Not being a huge cheese fan and deathly afraid of smelly cheeses, cheddar happens to be one of a small number of cheeses I actually like. I love cheddar on crackers or with green apples. I wasn't sure what it would be like but the pictures in the book really tempted me to give it a go.

It's a basic risotto recipe with baby leeks (or spring onions) as the base. Mustard is added too, which I thought would be a lovely flavor booster. The cheddar cheese (125 grams of it) is added at the end, and it melted into the risotto beautifully. I finally reached that perfect creamy risotto consistency I have always been after. My suspicions were correct - to get that really perfect creamy risotto consistency you need a heck load of cheese.

I want to say I loved this dish... but I didn't. I hated it. Waaaaaaah! The cheese just completely overpowered it for me. I guess I could take cheddar, and I suppose other cheeses, in small amounts, but not this big amount. I even think parmesan at this amount could be overwhelming. I may freeze the leftovers and make arancini out of it at a later time. Sort of party nibbles. Overwhelmingly flavored cheddar risotto, but at least in small amounts, and with a cold drink. Sorry Nigella and fellow Nigella fans. :(