Mushroom Risotto

by Barry Lewis

Ingredients

Boiled water from the kettle

80g risotto rice

Vegetable stock cube

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ courgette, cut in small pieces

5/6 mushrooms, sliced

Parsley and parmesan to serve

Mushroom (& courgette) risotto!

This risotto is so easy to make, I think you will absolutely love it, try adding different variations to the mix and letting your creativity run wild! As I write this, I’m thinking of a bacon risotto, oh my gosh. But, this one is perfect for vegetarians so that’s a super cool thing too and you could still load it with all the vegetables you could imagine. There’s no wine in it or anything fancy, just some simple steps to get you on that initial risotto bus! Here’s how you make it.

How to make this easy risotto…

First up in a deep frying pan add a little oil and fry up your onion, do this until softened and lightly transluscent before adding in the garlic and cooking for a minute longer. Crumble in a stock cube and then add in your rice.

Cook the rice for a couple of minutes just to coat some flavour on there before adding in 100ml of boiled water from a kettle, you will need a considerable amount of water to the side to top up as this rice cooks. This is critical, do not add too much water but be sure to keep topping up the water as you go so the pan does not go dry.

Meanwhile in a pan to one side fry your mushrooms and courgettes in a little oil until well charred, then place in a bowl to one side.

Keep adding water (I used about 800ml in total) whilst cooking the risotto for a good 25minutes then add in two thirds of the vegetables and stir through for a moment to warm it and mingle.

Remove from the heat and stir through 50g of grated cheddar cheese, letting the heat in the pan melt it.

Serve in a bowl with a sprinkle of parmesan on top, leftover charred vegetables and some fresh parsley – absolutely delicious!

easy mushroom risotto