RICE WEEK: Double cooked risotto with feta cheese and herbs

I love rice! I probably love it as much as I love potatoes and probably more than I love pasta! My favourite type is the yellow long grain one but the last few years I have a thing about the wild rice too. Today's recipe is one of my favourites with this precious little grain and it is so easy to prepare. Definitely it can be served as it is but it also makes a great accompaniment to various roast or potted meats and poultry

Cooked by Maria Loi,
a prominent Head Cook and food author

"Kouzinomageiremata" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):

1 packet of wild rice

2 tea-cups of Feta cheese, crumbled

125 gr. of margarine

1 medium yellow onion, finely grated

1 clove of garlic, minced

5 tea-cups of vegetable stock

salt
pepper
a pinch of ground nutmeg
1-2 sprigs of dill, the fronds finely snipped

1-2 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 sprig of fresh thyme, the leaves finely chopped (optional)

Method:
Rinse the rice thoroughly and leave in a bowl with some water for 2 hours to soften.

Put the vegetable stock in a saucepan to boil and keep it warm.

Melt the margarine in a pot on medium heat, season with salt and sauté the onion and the garlic, stirring with a wooden spoon until they turn lightly golden.

Add the rice in the pot (well drained) and stir constantly with the spoon to sauté, making sure that all is nicely coated by the margarine. Add a ladle of the stock in the pot while not stopping stirring until it is absorbed by the rice. Repeat the procedure until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.

Season with the nutmeg and some pepper, gently stir and empty the rice in a pyrex dish.

Gently smooth with a spatula, scatter on top the feta cheese and the thyme (if used). Put the dish under a hot grill and cook for 15 minutes (no stirring!) until the cheese is lightly browned.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the herbs and serve immediately directly from the dish.