This started off with a pack of Iceland frozen scallops. The pack came with several small disks of herby butter. I started by following the cooking instructions on the reverse of the pack - to gently fry the scallops in 2 of the disks of butter for about 10 minutes.

I lifted the scallops out of the pan and then fried one finely chopped onion and half a leek, also finely chopped. I added one cup of risotto rice and a glass of white wine. When the wine had been absorbed I stirred in a cup of stock. Whenever the rice had absorbed the liquid, I kept adding more until it was cooked.

When the rice was cooked I added the scallops and the rest of the butter which came with them. Emma grated some parmesan which was also stirred in. Some parmesan was kept to sprinkle on top for serving.

We usually avoid using a lot of butter and full fat cheese. A lot of our risottos or paellas are made without butter and they are usually reasonably good, but adding butter does make a difference. Tonight's risotto was very smooth and creamy with a subtle flavour. Every now and again, it's worth pushing the boat out and doing something like this.